Pokemon XD: Different Paths, Same Destiny
by Madame Shadowheart
Summary: Okay, the last version got a little screwy, so here I am, submitting it all over again. I'm a little new at this site, so please don't kill me. Anyway, this is an alternate ending to Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. Go read it. Now.
1. Prologue: Explosion

1..::Pokemon XD: Different Paths, Same Destiny::..

.:Written by Umbreevee:.

**PROLOGUE**

**EXPLOSION**

In the Pokemon region of Orre, a large, dark island sat with eery calmness in the middle of a violent, black sea. A small volcano lay on this island, Citadark Isle, appearing inactive and yet it had a strange, evil air around it. In a high-tech, round building with a hole in the roof next to the volcano stood a four Pokemon trainers, one a spiky-haired young boy, two tall, near-identical men dressed in gray robes, and the other a very small old man wearing a purple cloak. He was down to the floor his yellow eyes, wide behind oval glasses, seeming to stare at nothing.

"Yes, Master Greevil," the blue-haired man said in a low voice. "If we blow up Citadark Isle, then Cipher, our organization, will live on! Even though our minions will die, so will that little brat over there!" His voice raised in anger at the boy as he said "that little brat over there," and the expression on his face was that of pure hatred.

The young boy felt as though he had been slapped in the face. He was... about to die? No, he thought. This has to be a dream. This has to be! The boy's fate rested on the old man named Greevil's choice.

"Ardos, what are you doing?" the red-haired man cried in a voice that sounded almost exactly like Ardos's. "You're really want to kill everyone just to escape?"

"Of course, idiot!" Ardos snapped. "Would you REALLY want Cipher to fall to this... this CHILD, Eldes?"

"I... I..." Greevil stammered. His yellow gaze swept across the three people who stood before him. First, he saw Michael, the young, spiky-haired boy who crushed Cipher's plan, his emerald-green eyes wide with fright. Then his eyes traveled to Ardos, Greevil's wicked, diabolical son, the expression on his face cold as ice. Next to the long-haired man stood Eldes, the dark red-haired man who looked almost exactly like Ardos. The expression on Ardos's brother was unreadable, but it was clear that he was desperate to prevent Greevil from blowing up Citadark Island.

"Father, please don't do it!" Eldes pleaded.

"FATHER?!" the boy couldn't help blurting out in spite of all his fear. "He's your DAD?" Michael's eyes were now even wider with astonishment.

Eldes, Ardos, and Greevil did not seem to hear him.

"Michael's pure heart–"

"Shut the hell up, Eldes!" Ardos interrupted his brother. "This is Master Greevil's choice, not yours!"

"Look who's talking," Eldes said sarcastically.

"...Yes..." Greevil finally said, getting up from off the floor and leaning on his brown walking stick. "I will destroy Citadark Isle."

"I knew you would listen to me, Master Greevil," Ardos said, beaming.

Michael almost fainted at what he had heard. He had an awful feeling that this would be his last day on Earth. His head spun with this dreadful knowledge.

Eldes stared at his father and twin brother in astonishment. Yes, he had expected Ardos to suggest blowing up Citadark, but for his father to agree with him...? That was too far, much too far. "I cannot believe you," was all he could say.

"Well, you had better believe us!" Ardos snapped.

"Eldes," Greevil said calmly, "I will give you another chance to prove your loyalty to me. Escape with Ardos and I once the helicopter gets here."

"WHAT?!" Ardos yelled in angry surprise. "He's betraying us, and you're just going to–"

"Ardos, he is my son and your brother," Greevil said. "But I can assure you, if he betrays us again, then something will be done about him.""Yes, Master Greevil," Ardos said obediently.

_This can't be..._ Michael thought with despair.

Eldes slowly shook his head form side to side with great sadness, but said nothing more.

"Ardos," Greevil continued. "Where is the bomb we have been keeping with us?"

"Right here, Master Greevil." Ardos pulled out a small device that looked very much like a digital alarm clock from the sleeves of his robe and handed it to the short old man.

Just then, all of the Trainers heard an ear-splittingly loud "FWAPFWAPFWAP!"coming from the hole in the round building. They turned around to see what it was. A huge dark gray helicopter flew in, causing a violent wind to sweep through the room, blowing the hair and clothing of Ardos, Eldes, Michael, and Greevil (although not his hair, as he had none.)

Chuckling diabolically, Greevil pressed some small, gray buttons on the timer. "Prepare to meet your fate, Michael, you fool!"

Horrible dread churned in Michael's stomach like a washing machine gone insane. Oh great Mew above, if only I had a Flying-type Pokemon with me! he thought fearfully. If he did, then he could easily fly away from Citadark Isle. But the Shadow Lugia, XD001, had been sent to Michael's PC after it was captured, for he already had six Pokemon with him. It wouldn't have mattered, anyway; a Shadow Pokemon would not obey many orders outside of battle.

Greevil set the bomb down on the hard, dark gray floor and rushed into the helicopter as soon as it landed, quickly followed by Ardos. Eldes hesitated, casting one last glance over his shoulder at the young boy and mouthing out the words "I'm sorry, Michael... Please forgive me for this."

Michael nodded slowly. Eldes sighed and ran into the gray helicopter.

All Michael could do was watch in dismay as the helicopter's huge gray blades began to rotate and it flew away, almost blending into the dark sky.

The boy's vision blurred as tears dripped down his cheeks. He knew, then and there, he was going to die. He would die an explosive death. His body would burst into flames and would burn into nothing but ashes...

_No._ He pushed aside his feelings of hopelessness. There was no time to just stand there and cry! Maybe there was enough time to escape!

Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, Michael glanced at the timer. "10 min. 00 sec." it read in digital bright green numbers. _Have to get out of here, fast!_ he thought. He ran out of the round building as fast as his legs would carry him, and he then ran across a long, thin bridge of steel in a rocky area.

The further he got through the volcanic Citadark Isle, the more the fear rose inside of him. What if I'm too late? he wondered. The scenery around him seemed like a blur, he was so scared.

Soon, he saw an opening in front of him, like the mouth of a cave. The exit! Throwing a few strands of his long, rust-colored hair out of his eyes, Michael dashed toward the exit, faster than he ever dreamed of running. Hope was shining in his heart like a candle in the darkest of rooms. _I'm almost there!_ he thought with joy.

He caught sight of the Robo Kyogre as soon as he was out and quickly opened the glass door that was on the very top of the Kyogre-like machine. As nimbly as a Persian, he jumped into the seat and closed the transparent door in what seemed like a blur of motion. Michael gripped the steering wheel with his left hand and turned a weird-looking knob with his other hand to get the Robo Kyogre moving away from Citadark Isle. He made it just a few yards away from the evil-looking island before...

KA-BOOM!

...A near-blinding red-orange light lit the dark sky as Citadark Isle exploded in a huge flash. The force of the explosion sent huge waves all around Citadark, ocean waves even bigger and stronger than the waves from before. Unfortunately, not even the hardy Robo Kyogre could handle such brutal force. As the waves crashed onto it, the Kyogre-like machine was sent, twisting and turning, into the deep, black ocean.

"AAAAAAAHH!!!" Michael screamed as he was tossed around in every direction. Pain stabbed at every inch of his small body like a Zangoose's claws as he was banged against the Robo Kyogre.

His back crashed against the leather seat and tears of pain blurred Michael's vision.

His skinny arms crumbled underneath his body as he flew into the cockpit. _Thank Mew the Snag Machine, the machine on my arm used to snag Shadow Pokemon, isn't broken,_ he thought above all his panic and pain.

Then his consciousness faded as his forehead slammed into a big, hard red button on the control panel. On the button in big, black letters, it read "PRESS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY."

**CHAPTER 1**

**LUNA'S NIGHTMARE AND A STRANGE BOY**

"Where am I?!"

The dark gray-blue-haired teen girl whipped her head around in alarm, her gray-blue eyes wild with fear behind her round, metal-rimmed glasses. Her long, denim coat flowed with the motion of her tall body as she began to break into a sprint. But no matter where she turned, no matter which direction she ran, she couldn't get away from the white emptiness that surrounded her.

"Where am I?!" she cried again, her voice echoing in the terrible whiteness. Fear rose in her heart like a fever during a terrible sickness.

With little warning, her world began to dissolve into darkness, darker than she could ever imagine. The girl screeched. Never before had she been in a blackness as dark and deadly as this.

Thud, thud, thud.

The girl twirled around in alarm. What was that?

Thud, thud, THUD.

No! It was getting louder! Getting closer!

THUD, THUD, THUD.

What is that, the girl wondered in fear.

THUD, THUD, THUD!

Footsteps! Louder than she had ever heard, and they were approaching with an incredible speed. "Who are you?" the girl called, trying her best to sound brave. "Show yourselves!""Gladly!" a deep male voice called out.

"AAAAHH!!" The girl screeched as her world burst into dark purple flames. Fiery pain ran through her body like the burn from a Houndoom. And then, for a short instant, a brilliant white light blinded her, and she had to narrow her large eyes to protect them. When the light cleared, the purple fire was still all around her, but the pain was gone. In front of her stood dozens, maybe even hundreds of men and women dressed in pearl-white armor as bright as the flash that had almost blinded the girl.

Her heart filled with dread like water emptying from a waterfall to a river when she saw the man at the head of the deadly-looking army. He was a slender, long-haired man, and all of his body was hidden by shadows except for his sinister ice-blue eyes that seemed to see right through girl's every thought, every dream, every desire. Low, almost inaudible voices whispered something in the girl's ears, though she could not make out what they were saying.

"We will rule!" he cried wickedly. "We shall rule over all others!"

The teenage girl lifted her head to look the man in the pale blue eyes. "I warn you now; little girl, do not try to resist us. Or you WILL regret it!" the man hissed.

To the girl's great surprise, the man's expression instantly changed from pure evil to gentle concern. "Luna, wake up!" he said in a now-boyish voice. "Wake up! Luna!"

"Aaaaah!" Luna opened her eyes. "What?" She reached for her glasses on the wooden side-table next to her bed and put them in front of her gray-blue eyes. A long-haired boy just a year younger than she kneeled in front of her, concern showing in his mud-colored eyes.

"You were screaming in your sleep, Luna," the boy explained. "You were screaming about ruling over others and regretting something. Are you okay?"

"I think so, Eli," Luna said, relieved that it was just a dream. And yet... there was something about her nightmare... something that...

"Luna?" Eli asked, seeing the fear on Luna's face.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's nothing, really."

Even though Luna tried to smile, Eli was still unconvinced. He knew there was something that was bothering his sister. But I'll let her tell me when she wants to tell me, he thought.

"No, it's not nothing!" a shrill, girly voice said from the bedroom doorway.

Eli and Luna turned their heads to see their small, spunky blond-haired younger sister, still in her girly pink nightgown. "Luna, don't be silly! You had a bad dream, didn't you? I know you did! I know you did! I really, really know you–"

"Put a lid on it, Heather," Luna said in an exasperated tone.

"No way! I'll never put a lid on it!" At this point, Heather started bouncing up and down. "And you're lucky Mom and Dad can sleep through everything! Or else they'd be all over you, worrying about you and crying over you and fussing over you and stuff!"

"Oh, Jirachi." Eli rolled his eyes as he walked over to Heather and began to push her out of the room.

"Eli, stop! I wanna stay, don't make me leave!"

Eli began to push Heather out of Luna's room, but the little girl tightly held onto the doorway.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't try to kick me out! I'll tell Mommy and Daddy!"

"Come on, Heather," Eli said. "If you wake up Mom and Dad, they're not going to be happy with you. You'll get a time-out for sure."

Good old Eli, Luna thought. Always thinking of things so quickly. I'm damn lucky to have a brother like him.

Heather's big sapphire-colored eyes widened in fright. "Okay, but you haven't seen the last of me!" she exclaimed dramatically as she made her way back to her bedroom.

"She really grinds my nerves," Eli said when he was sure his younger sister had gone.

"Gotta agree with you, dude," Luna said. "Sometimes I wish she was never born."

"Well, I wouldn't wish something as horrible as THAT," Eli replied.

"By the way, what time is it?"

"I think it's about five, five-thirty in the morning."

"Holy crap, that's early."

"Yeah, you never were a morning person."

"Nope."

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to go eat breakfast."

"I'll be right down. I just need to get dressed."

"You do that, Luna. Later," Eli said as he walked out of Luna's bedroom.

"See you, dude."

When Eli left the room, Luna looked around, to make sure she still wasn't dreaming. No, she was still in her bedroom: same wooden walls; the closet was still next to her white wooden door; her desk still next to her closet, cluttered with pieces of paper, books, and pencils; same bookshelf against the wall opposite of the door; her side table next to her bed was still next to the bookshelf; and, yes, she was still in her same white bed.

Luna breathed a big sigh of relief as she crawled out of the covers, walked over to her door, and shut the door. But she still couldn't shake off the fear from her dream, and the image of the tall, shady man with the frightening ice-blue eyes.

This wasn't the first time she had one of these nightmares, either. The night before, she had a dream about a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen, shrouded in black auras, battling each other with a ferocity that Luna had never seen before. Before that night, she dreamed of a huge, bulky man, bigger than any man she had ever seen, with unusually dark tan skin. With him was a girl around the age of eleven or twelve, with equally tanned skin.

But the strangest thing was, Luna reflected as she put on her black shirt, long jeans, and long denim coat, she could very clearly remember all of these dreams. Normally, she could almost never remember any kind of dream she had. And if she could, it was usually just bits and pieces of the dream. But the dreams she'd been having these past few days... she could remember them as clearly as if they actually happened.

I'm not usually one to believe in omens and all that crap, Luna thought as she brushed her thick, dark gray-blue hair, but maybe I should tell Fateen, this town's fortune teller, about my dreams. She shook her head. Or maybe I should tell Eli about it first. He might know what to do; he always does.

Luna sighed as she put her hairbrush down on her wooden desk. She left her bedroom and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

Luna sighed again as she looked at her surroundings. The stairs, wooden. The walls, wooden. Even the handrail was wooden. So much wood everywhere. Luna hated it. The rest of Pyrite Town all had modern houses, made of metal that was a bit rusted. But Luna's family liked things that were old-fashioned. She had often complained to her parents about the oldness of their home, about how the other citizens of Pyrite thought Luna's family was crazy. "Now, now, sweetie-pie," her mother, Amelia, would always say, "you'll never know what it really means to live unless you live like they did waaaaaay back in the old days." And then Amelia would start rambling about her childhood and how she was pampered like a princess. Every single time, her mother would never listen to poor Luna.

Her father, Robert, listened to Luna. But he never did anything about it. He was just fat, lazy old man who left his wife and children to do all the work in and out of the house.

But that's the least of my problems right now, Luna thought as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal and milk. At least all of the appliances were modern.

Luna took the bowl of cold cereal and walked over to the wooden table. She sat next to Eli, who was already crunching on a piece of toast. "Hi, Luna."

"Hi, Eli," Luna said. "Listen, there's something that I need to talk to you abou–"

Luna was interrupted when the television on the table flickered on. A pretty woman with beautiful purple hair and a fancy ruby-red dress appeared on screen. "We bring you breaking ONBS news!" she said, sounding a bit troubled but trying her best not to show it. "Citadark Isle, which has recently been discovered to be Cipher's base, exploded at exactly seven o'clock last night. Michael Fir, the boy who has been fighting Cipher for the past month and a half, was supposedly on the island at the time of the explosion. Investigators have found over a hundred bodies, including the Cipher Admins Lovrina, Snattle, and Gorigan, but no traces of Michael or his Robo Kyogre have been found. This has lead many experts to suspect that the boy had been captured by Cipher's leader, Greevil, and that Greevil took the Robo Kyogre with him prior to the explosion. Stay tuned for more details."

The television turned off on its own, leaving Luna and Eli to stare at it, wide-eyed with shock.

"Did you hear that?" Eli asked in astonishment.

Luna nodded slowly, almost completely forgetting about her nightmares. "I heard that."

"And you know what it means, don't you?"

"Yeah. It means that Orre will be as good as gone soon."

A tall, muscular man with long black hair stared at the seemingly endless ocean ahead of him as the sun began to set below the horizon, a small fishing spear gripped in his right hand. So far, he had not caught a single fish for his village, not even a tiny Magikarp. It was considered shameful for a man to return from hunting empty-handed, and he had to get back to his village before nightfall.

The man sighed. He supposed he would have to...

Huh? He began to see a shape in the distance. Some kind of... he didn't know what the hell it was.

"Leaf, why are you just standing there when you should be hunting?" a masculine voice next to the man demanded.

The man named Leaf turned his head to see a man even more immense than he was, with a long, diagonal scar on his face. He, too, held a fishing spear in his right hand, but he carried a whole sack full of dead fish-Pokemon in his other hand.

"Thunder, look," Leaf said. "There is something out there. In the ocean."

"Leaf, my brother, you must be going crazy," Thunder said. "The ocean is endless. There is nothing beyond those vast waters, except for the sun and the moon when they sink, and the sea Pokemon."

"But that is not the sun or the moon, and I do not think that is a Pokemon." Leaf pointed at the strange shape drifting toward their island. "It is like nothing anyone has ever seen. I do believe there are others..."

Thunder rolled his black eyes. His younger brother could be so ridiculous, believing in others beyond the ocean.

The mysterious shape drifted closer and closer, and Leaf continued to stare at it. Soon, its shape became clear. It was similar to a Kyogre, but with something puffy and red like a thick cloud was lying below it, keeping the Kyogre-like thing afloat.

"Leaf, it is coming closer!" Thunder exclaimed. "I was right! It must be a Pokemon! If we kill it, just imagine how much the village will appreciate our efforts! There appears to be enough to–"

Leaf gave his older brother a hard nudge with his massive elbow. "No. Look."

The strange thing was almost at the island's shore now. The two brothers could see its coloring now that it was closer; similar to that of a Kyogre, but it appeared to be very shiny and metallic. The top of it was transparent, showing a very small boy lying unconscious or dead inside of it.

Leaf's coal-black eyes widened in alarm. What the hell was this thing? Who was that boy inside of it?

"There is a small child inside of that Pokemon, or whatever it is," Leaf said.

Thunder blinked in disbelief. His brother... his strange brother who believed in strange things such as others beyond the ocean and an afterlife... was right? There WERE others, after all?

The strange thing floated onto the sandy shore, and they could see exactly what it was. Some kind of mutated Kyogre with a transparent top and a bloated red cloud-like object below it, they figured. However, it did not seem to move. It appeared... dead.

The boy inside of it was lying motionless on his side, his face hidden from view because of the thick red hair that draped over it.

...Red hair?

"Thunder," Leaf said, alarmed. "Look at this child. His hair is strange, very strange!"

"Yes," Thunder replied. "It is very strange. Hair should not be red. It should be black, like everyone else's."

"Strange or not, however, I believe he needs help. We must get him out of this thing."

"Leaf, you are even stranger than this boy if you think we need to get him out of there. He is from beyond the vast waters. We do not know what he is capable of, or how he even got in that thing. He could be a threat to us."

"Thunder!" Leaf snapped. "This boy will not harm us! See how small he is. He is unconscious, and he appears hurt. He could die if we do not take him back to the village and let the healers care for him."

Thunder sighed in exasperation. "Leaf, there are many times when you annoy me to the point where I wish to kill you. Frankly, this is one of those times. I do, however, see your point. Alright, I will help you get him out of this thing."

"The question is, how do we get him out of there?" Leaf asked, inspecting the strange object. "There does not appear to be an opening."

"Then we shall break it open!" Thunder raised his fishing spear.

"I suppose, but be careful not to hurt–"

Leaf's words fell on deaf ears. Thunder ferociously stabbed his spear at the transparent part of the machine, and it shattered into dozens of pieces that cut the boy's delicate skin.

"Thunder, what are you doing?" Leaf demanded furiously. "You are hurting the poor boy even further!"

"Well, at least we saved him from this transparent... whatever it is!"

Leaf shook his immense, strong head. His brother could be so heartless at times! "Never mind. We need to get him to shelter." With those words, Leaf gently picked the boy up with his giant, muscular arms.

Leaf gasped in shock. This boy looked even weirder now that he saw him up close. Not only was his hair red, he also wore strange clothing; a black and yellow shirt and blue pants, and something brown covered his feet. It very different from the Ursaring skins that Leaf and everyone else wore. Blood slowly oozed from the cuts Thunder gave him, but that was nothing unusual. Attached to the boy's left arm was something that appeared to be made out of the same material as the thing he was trapped inside of, but it was gray, not blue like the thing he was just inside of a few seconds ago. His left arm was also covered in blood that was drying at this point, and it was badly twisted to a weird angle. A large bruise made his forehead look blue.

That, however, was the least strangest quality this boy had. He was so small and thin. And his skin... it was so pale, white, even! Everyone else Leaf knew had skin that was some shade of brown, ranging from dark brown to light tan. Leaf's own skin was brownish-tan. But white! Never before had Leaf seen such pale skin.

"That child is a freak!" Thunder exclaimed. "I shall kill him now, for a boy as freakish as he does not belong in the world!" Thunder raised his spear again, ready to stab the boy's heart.

"Thunder, no!" Leaf grabbed the spear from him brother just before it could touch the boy. "Why does his appearance matter so much to you? We must take him to the village."

Thunder sighed. "I suppose you are right," he said, though he still sounded bitter.Leaf and his brother quickly walked away from the sandy beach and into the jungle where their village lay, leaving the gentle ocean waves to lap at the Kyogre-like object.

**CHAPTER 2**

**KIND HEALERS... AND FIRST KILL**

"Ugh..." Michael groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He was in a small cave lit by what looked like a campfire. Surrounding him were four women who he didn't recognize, all of them wearing what appeared to be Ursaring skins. Michael blinked in surprise. They was so dark! He had never seen skin as brown as this or hair so black and long before. Where in Mew's name was he?

An uneasy murmuring swept through the crowd of women. "He is waking up!" one of them said fearfully. "Will he try to kill us?"

"His eyes! Look at his eyes!" That was what the loudest of the women said. "They are green! Not black like ours, but green! This is all wrong!"

"Wh-where am I?" Michael asked weakly.

Three of the women gasped and backed away slowly, except for the youngest of them, a girl who seemed to be around Michael's age. She stood where she was standing before, clearly not afraid of this foreign boy.

"Stranger," the girl said, "you are in our village. We are the healers, and we are here to help you."

"Village?" Michael asked, confounded by these strange women's odd way of speaking. "What village?"

"Oh, do not bother with him, Star," one of the older healers said in exasperation. "This boy would not know left from right."

"Raindrop," Star said to her, "I do not believe he is stupid. He is just not from around here. Remember what Thunder and Leaf said, that they found him in the ocean. He would not know of our ways.""An ocean boy?" Raindrop asked. "That is downright ridiculous!"

"Please, Raindrop, allow me to ask this boy where he came from. I am sure he can tell us."

Raindrop sighed. "Go on ahead, Star."

"Thank you, Raindrop," Star said, bowing respectfully. She walked over to Michael and kneeled down beside him, kindness in her jet-black eyes. "Hello, strange boy. My name is Star, as you have probably figured out by now. Please tell me, where did you come from?"

Michael blinked again, trying to recall the event from before he was knocked out. There was the battle with Greevil, the argument between Ardos and Eldes, and the explosion of Citadark Isle... he remembered nothing else of the events after Citadark Isle's explosion, except for waking up in this cave.

"I... I come from Orre," he said.

"Orre?" Star asked, interested in this weird boy's origins. "I have never heard of such a place. You see, we have always thought that there was nothing beyond the vast oceans surrounding our island. Up until now, we thought our village were the only humans in existence. That is, until my older brothers Leaf and Thunder found you."

"I see. Orre is a huge continent with a hot climate. There aren't many wild Pokemon there, but there are a lot of Pokemon Trainers."

"Pokemon Trainers?" Star asked again.

"People who capture Pokemon to use for battles," Michael explained.

"You come from an odd place, strange boy. We do not often capture Pokemon here. We use them mostly for food."

"Where I come from, your village would be considered an 'odd place,' you know. Anyway, why's your skin so dark?"

"I was about to ask you a similar question. You see, we have never seen anyone so small and so pale. Your spiky red hair, white skin, and green eyes are strange to us. They are different from our black hair and eyes, and brown skin."

"I'm not really sure why. I was just born like that."

"That is the answer I was about to give you." Star gave a kind smile. "By the way, I do not think I have gotten your name, strange boy. What are you called?"

"My name's Michael."

"Michael?" Star asked confusedly. "I have never heard of a Michael. What is it?""It's just a name. It isn't really anything, I don't think."

Star smiled again. "Well, Michael, it seems we have much to learn from each other. You see, our names are not just names. They have meanings. For example, my name is Star, as in the stars in the night sky."

"I see." With each word that was spoken, Michael became more and more interested in these strange villagers. "And–Aah!" Michael's head began to throb with intense pain, as though his brain was trying to break out of it. He shut his eyes tight and clutched his head with his right hand.

"Be careful, Michael," Star said, moving Michael's small hand away from his head and placing a warm piece of thick Stanler skin on his forehead. "From the looks of that bruise, you took a nasty blow to the head. You must be more careful from now on, at least until you recover."

"Thanks," Michael said as the warmth of the Stanler skin began to ease the pain. "I will. But will I be okay?"

For a moment, Star was uncertain. She turned her head and was about to ask the other healers.

"We do not know," Raindrop said before Star could even open her mouth. "An infection is beginning to creep into your left arm. It looks bad, but we will do everything we can to save you."

"My left arm?" Michael turned his head to look at the arm where his Snag Machine was attached.

Michael gasped in shock. "Oh, my Mew!" The black sleeve of his shirt was torn, showing a long, blood-red gash. The Snag Machine still seemed functional, but the cord that connected the shoulder blade to the glove was twisted. That, however, was the least of his worries. His left arm was badly twisted to a weird angle, making it very hard to move the arm.

"Your left arm is badly wrenched, but I am sure you have noticed that already," Star explained. "Believe me, we have done everything to try and untwist it, but I am afraid you'll never be able to move that arm properly again."

Michael sighed glumly. Star began to kindly stroke the side of his head with a gentle tan hand. "You poor boy. You have been through much. But I am sure you will be fine." Star tried to smile for him, but he could still see the uncertainty in her expression.

"I know you're doing whatever you can," Michael said. "I just hope my family's okay... Mom... Professor Krane... Jovi..." Michael's leaf-green eyes began to flood with worry.

"You have a family, you say?" Star asked, a bit startled.

"Yeah. I grew up in a lab, a place where we study about things, such as Pokemon. My dad died five years ago. My mom's a scientist, and she's dating Prof. Krane, the Director of the Pokemon Headquarters Lab."

Star had no idea what Michael was talking about, and neither did the other healers, but they did not ask questions about what he meant, for they didn't want to upset the boy too much. They just listened as he told them about his family from what he called the Pokemon Headquarters Lab. He told about his sister named Jovi, and about an evil organization he called Cipher. He talked of their evil plans to rule the world.

"They're led by a man named Greevil," he said. "He seems harmless at first, but he's vicious. I battled him, so I know from experience."

The healers gasped. "You fought him?!" Star exclaimed. "On your own?"

"Well, not really. In Orre, we solve all our problems with Pokemon battles, which is when two Pokemon Trainers make their Pokemon battle each other. If all of your Pokemon faint before the other guy's Pokemon, you lose the battle."

"To be honest," Star said, "that sounds a bit foolish."

"I never really understood it, myself. But that's how things work in Orre."

IThis boy is stranger than we figured,/I Star thought. "I see. And this cruel Cipher...?"

Michael nodded. "I battled Greevil. I won, but one of his Admins, Ardos, tried to kill me by suggesting to Greevil that they blow up Citadark Isle. But Ardos's brother Eldes, another Cipher Admin, betrayed Cipher and tried to tell Greevil not to do it. Eventually, I learned that Eldes and Ardos are Greevil's sons. But anyway, Greevil decided to blow up Citadark Isle. I don't really remember anything after that, but I think I escaped somehow."

"Leaf and Thunder found you unconscious inside of a Kyogre-like piece of metal during one of their hunting trips last sundown," an elderly healer explained. "It drifted onto our island with a red cloud-like object keeping it afloat. Then they took you back to the village. Our chief and some of his higher-ranking men talked it over, and they have decided to let us care for you until you are well enough to leave our village."

"Thanks. And that Kyogre-like object is the Robo Kyogre. It lets me travel across water."

"Travel across water!" the old healer exclaimed. "How can that be?"

"In Orre, we have many kinds of gadgets that can do all kinds of things."

"Ah. But you can tell us about it later. You need to rest while we try to heal your arm."

"Thanks," Michael said again.

As the healers placed strange herbs on his crippled arm, Michael let his thoughts drift. One of his first thoughts was of his family at the Pokemon HQ Lab. He wondered if Cipher had attacked them already. II really hope Cipher doesn't hurt them,/I he thought with despair. IMew forbid anything should happen to Jovi... I don't think I'll be able to live with myself./I

Then he thought of Eldes, and how he betrayed Cipher in a vain attempt to save Michael. When he had last seen Greevil's son, he had been in sadness. Eldes had probably thought that in failing to save Michael, he had failed to save Orre. Who knew what he was doing now, and how he was getting on now that he had betrayed his own father?

Michael then thought about the rest of Orre, and how they were doing. Had Greevil launched an attack on them already? Did they even know Citadark blew up? Did they see the explosion? Did they think Michael was dead? His head swam with these questions that could not yet be answered.

Eldes sat in his cold, metal chair, his chin resting on his hand and his fingers drumming on the hard surface of the steel table. His father, Greevil, sat next to Eldes, and next to Greevil was Ardos, both of their expressions unreadable.

"So," Greevil said coldly to the thin, black-haired woman who stood on the opposite side of the table. "It is your wish to join Cipher, am I correct?"

"Yes it is, Greevil," the beautiful woman said in a graceful voice. "It has always been my dream to strike terror throughout the world. Especially after..." She looked down at the dark floor, a shadow crossing over her beautiful face.

"Good, good," Greevil hissed. "Now, may we have your name?"

The woman looked up again and said, "My name is Carey Adamantine."

"Good. Now, why is it you wish to join Cipher?"

Carey's steel-gray gaze bore into Greevil's amber eyes, her expression cold and hard as ice. "I want revenge."

IRevenge on who... or what?/I Eldes wondered, but he didn't dare ask this out loud.

"Congratulations, Ms. Adamantine," Greevil said. "You're hired."

He and Carey shook hands. Like he did every other job interview for Cipher, Eldes reflected on how strange it was. No resume, barely any interview, almost nothing. You just tell Greevil your name and reason for joining Cipher, and you were in.

"You start tomorrow. Here's your uniform. Ardos?"

"Yes, Master Greevil," Ardos said as he handed Carey her bright white Cipher peon uniform, which clashed with her dark black outfit.

"Now, you start out as a peon, which is the lowest rank," Greevil said. "If you prove yourself worthy, you may move on to commander and then to Admin."

"Also," Ardos said, "it is worth mentioning that you are the first to join us since the rest of Cipher was killed. Fortunately, that foolish little boy Michael died with them, so we do not have to worry about him anymore."

Eldes knew that half of what Ardos said was incorrect. While Ardos and Greevil were busy with their plans for future attacks on Orre once they got enough members, Eldes saw Michael escape from Citadark just before it exploded. He wasn't sure where the boy was headed, but because the rest of Orre thought Michael was either dead or captured by Greevil, he certainly didn't make it back home.

But Eldes had a strong feeling that Michael was alive. Eldes knew that if peace was to be restored in Orre, he had to find the boy who would save them. And he decided that, as soon as he got the chance, Eldes would find the boy–

"Eldes?" Greevil asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Huh, wha...? O-Oh, yes. Welcome to Cipher, Ms. Adamantine," Eldes said quickly as he began to sit up straight.

Greevil shot him a short, undisguised glare and Carey gave him a weird look with her attractive gray eyes. Ardos shook his head in acute embarrassment but said nothing.

IMy brother is an embarrassment to us all,/I Ardos thought. IWe should have left him to die on Citadark Isle with that brat. Why, if I were the head of Cipher, I'd kill him right now!/I

"As I said," Greevil continued, "You begin tomorrow morning at... oh, why am I bothering to explain this to you myself? Here is your schedule." Greevil handed Carey a small piece fo paper. "Read it over carefully tonight, and be here at exactly eight o'clock, no earlier, no later. Welcome to Cipher, Carey Adamantine."

Eldes clenched his fists. INo!/I he wanted to scream to the young woman. ILeave now, while you still can! Greevil is an vicious beast, don't join Cipher!/I But he didn't dare utter a single word with Greevil sitting right next to him and Ardos glaring at Eldes with a fiery gaze hidden behind dark shades.

Carey took a short bow of respect for her new master. "Yes, Gree... I mean, Master Greevil."

"Good, good. You are dismissed. Tomorrow you will receive your first Shadow Pokemon."

IShadow Pokemon?/I Carey thought. IDidn't Michael shut the Shadow Pokemon Factory down last week?/I Out loud, however, she simply said, "Yes, Master Greevil." and left the dark room.

Eldes was wondering the same thing Carey was. "Master Greevil," he said to his father, "I thought Michael shut the Shadow Pokemon Factory down several days ago. How are you getting more Shadow Pokemon?"

"Yesterday, Ardos and I hacked into Michael's Pokemon Storage System account," Greevil said, his emotions unreadable. "It turns out he had rescued more Shadow Pokemon than we had thought. So we simply stole them back."Greevil's mouth formed into a long, evil grin.

Eldes gritted his teeth in anger, though he did his best not to show it. This meant that Michael's efforts to save those poor Pokemon... were all in vain.

"Hold it! You are all under arrest!" a voice called from outside of the dark room.

Eldes, Ardos, and Greevil turned their eyes to the door in the front of the room.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Whoever was at the door began to bang on it violently.

"Let me in! This is the Pyrite Police! Let me in!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Greevil sighed. He recognized that voice. It was none other than Officer Johnson, an obnoxious spaz who somehow managed to keep his job as a Pyrite Officer.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Oh, Jirachi," Ardos muttered in exasperation.

The door slid open, revealing an ridiculous-looking man in a police uniform and wearing a tall blue hat, trying to look respectable but failing miserably.

IHe only just realized that he could have opened to door?/I Ardos thought. IThis man is perhaps even worse than Eldes!/I

"By my authority as Pyrite's Officer, I hereby declare you..." Officer Johnson stuck his nose high up in the air, "...under arrest!"

Greevil sighed, getting very annoyed. "Ardos," Greevil ordered, "deal with him. Now, please."

"Yes, Master Greevil." Ardos got up out of his seat and walked coldly over to Officer Johnson.

"AHA!" Officer Johnson exclaimed happily. "So, I guess you were so intimidated by my awesome power and authority that you are surrendering to me! Pow!"

Ardos shook his head in extreme annoyance. "Let's get this over with, already."

Cipher Admin Ardos-------Pyrite Officer Johnson

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)-----------------------(-)(-)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Officer Johnson threw two Poke Balls, sending out two Growlithe in an explosion of brilliant white light.

"GROOOWL!" they howled together.

"This shouldn't be too hard," Ardos grumbled as he threw his own two Poke Balls. "Go, Alakazam and Swellow!"

Eldes's eyes widened as the Poke Ball exploded in a flash of white light. Wasn't that the same Shadow Swellow that Michael Snagged? IArdos must have stolen it back when he hacked into Michael's Storage System account,/I Eldes decided.

"Growlithe!" Officer Johnson hollered, pointing at his Growlithe dramatically. "Use Ember!"

The Growlithe that was northwest of Officer Johnson looked back at his trainer. "Grow?" he asked inquisitively, wondering which of Ardos's Pokemon to attack.

"Oh, Jirachi. Swellow, use Shadow Break on the one to your right," Ardos said, sounding quite bored.

"SWEELL!" Swellow cawed aggressively as it dive-bombed one of the Officer's Growlithe while dark energy formed rapidly around him.

"Uh... uh..." Officer Johnson could not order his Growlithe to attack in time. The dark, powerful Shadow Swellow was already dive-bombing the poor little Growlithe, vicious talons extended, evil eyes gleaming with the thrill of the fight.

Officer Johnson and his other Growlithe could only watch in shocked horror. Swellow raked his talons across Growlithe's puppy-like face, changing its color from fiery orange to blood-red. Growlithe howled in agony as his small eyes were torn right out of his head.

"No!" Officer Johnson cried.

"Finish it," Ardos hissed.

Swellow let out a huge, awful screech of pleasure. He raked the small Pokemon's throat with its deadly claws and then quickly flew back to his Trainer, all in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

All Officer Johnson and his other Growlithe could do was stare in shocked horror as a few small shudders passed through the bloody Pokemon's body. He let out a tiny, gurgling cry before he lay completely still.

"No..." Officer Johnson said in horror. "My... my Growlithe..."

"Alakazam!" Ardos commanded. "Use Psychic! Now!""Ala-KAZAM!" Alakazam closed his eyes tightly in concentration and tightened the grip on his two silver spoons. A blue glow formed around him, and the air seemed to shimmer as the Officer's other Growlithe was lifted off her paws. She thrashed her dog-like legs in an attempt to break free from Alakazam's attack, but her efforts were in vain. When she was ten feet in the air, Alakazam opened his eyes and bent his spoons sharply using his psychic abilities, sending the female Growlithe plummeting to the dark gray floor. Landing with a hard thud, she was instantly knocked out.

Officer Johnson just stared wide-eyed at Ardos, who was smirking wickedly.

"My Growlithe!"

"You... you killed my Growlithe!" Officer Johnson pointed dramatically at his dead, still-bleeding Growlithe as he recalled his female Growlithe.

"Yes," Ardos said wickedly, "and now, I kill you! Swellow, use Shadow Break!"

"SWEEEELOW!" Swellow seemed to shimmer with dark power as he swiftly flew upwards, ready to dive-bomb the Officer.

"Don't you dare kill me! I am Offi–"

Officer Johnson was unable to finish speaking, as Swellow's beak was already beginning to rip out his throat. The poor Officer screamed in pain as he saw his blood splatter in every direction.

Like his Growlithe, shudders ran through Officer Johnson's body as he fell to the ground. Swellow flew back to Ardos, his beak and talons caked in blood. They both watched in diabolical satisfaction as the Officer took his last, desperate breath.

Ardos smirked. "Well," he said, "now that we have gotten rid of that idiot, shall I take his remaining Growlithe, Master Greevil?"

"Very well," Greevil said.

Ardos walked over to the dead Officer Johnson in a most wicked manner and leaned down beside him, ignoring the blood that soaked his gray and blue robes. He grabbed the dead Officer's Poke Ball from his belt and left the body to bleed some more.

And Eldes had a horrifying feeling that the poor Officer was only the first of many to be killed for his Pokemon.

**CHAPTER 3**

**THE HEXAGON IDIOTS**

Luna and Eli exchanged astonished glances. Neither of them could believe what they had just heard on television. Michael was either dead or captured. No one knew the where Wes, the man who saved Orre during the first Shadow Incident, was or even if he was still alive. That meant that Orre would soon crumble and fall into the diabolical hands of Cipher.

Luna sighed. "I can't believe this."

"Neither can I," Eli replied glumly. "Nothing we can do about it, though. I guess we should just enjoy life while we can." He sighed.

"I guess." Luna continued to eat her cold cereal, trying not to meet Eli's brown gaze.

Eli did not keep eating, however. There was something his sister wanted to tell him, he knew it. "Luna," he said, trying to change the subject, "was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Luna looked up from her bowl of cereal, her silver-blue eyes looking troubled. "Actually, yes. You see..." Luna began to tell Eli about her dreams from the past few nights, describing the most recent two as "horrible" and "terrifying."

Eli listened carefully, as he always did when someone was talking to him. He nodded when she was finished talking. "Hm. Luna, this is probably going to sound a little crazy, but we should probably see Fateen about this."

"Actually, that's what I was thinking," Luna replied.

"Alright, we'll go after break–"

"Oh, my little Lu-Lu pie!"

Luna rolled her eyes in exasperation. Her mother, a short, chubby blond-haired woman wearing a long white nightgown walked clumsily into the kitchen, her fat arms wide open for a hug.

"Oh, my darling little sweetie-kins!" Amelia squeezed Luna tightly, nearly choking the teenaged girl.

Luna knew since she was a little girl that trying to break free from her mother's tight grip was pointless, so she just hung limp with a disgusted expression on her face. IThis happens every time I see her,/I Luna thought. IShe always does this to Heather and I, but never Eli! She patronizes girls so often it isn't even funny!/I Luna continued the rant in her head as Amelia squeezed her daughter so tightly that she could hardly breathe.

"Uh... mom?" Eli said. "I think you're killing her."

"I AM?!" Amelia gasped, dropping Luna. "Oh, my goodness gracious me!"

Luna landed with a thud on the hard wooden floor. Rubbing her back in pain, she said furiously to her mother, "Mom, why do you always do this to me and Heather? You never try to fing STRANGLE Eli!"

"Now, now, sweetie," her mother said with a creepy smile, waving her finger in Luna's annoyed-looking face, "let's not talk that way around mommy-doodles."

Luna rolled her silver-blue eyes. Eli, still remembering what he had seen on the ONBS news channel, said, "Mom, I think there's something you should know..."

Amelia's plump face grew serious. "What is it, Eli? Is there something wrong?"

"Actually... yes."

IOh, sweet Mew above,/I Luna prayed, Idon't let him say anything about my nightmares! If mom finds out, she'll never leave me alone at night!/I

To her relief, Eli said nothing about his sister's dreams. Instead, the dirty-blond haired boy told Amelia about what he had seen on the ONBS news.

"Oh, my goodness!" she exclaimed when her son had finished. "Who will fight Cipher now? Michael was our only hope!"

"Mom, why overreact?" Luna asked as politely as she could despite her frustration with her annoying mother. "I'm sure there'll be someone else to fight Cipher, like the police."

"Oh, yes there will Missy Moo-moo, you'll fight the bad guys, yes you will, lambchop!" A big, patronizing smile spread across Amelia's round face, and she began to pinch her daughter's cheeks, her red-painted fingernails digging into Luna's soft flesh.

"Mom, cut it out," Luna muttered in extreme exasperation. "Eli and I have to leave."

"You're leaving your mommy? Already? Oh, sweetie, do be careful!" Amelia hugged Luna again, this time her grip was even tighter. Luna gagged in pain and disgust. Was her mother TRYING to kill her?!

"Mom, I think you're hurting her," Eli said. "Again."

"Oh, my goodness gracious me!" Amelia giggled for perhaps the millionth time. "So sorry, sunshine!" She dropped her daughter again, sending her falling to the floor with a hard thud.

Eli walked over to his older sister and held out his hand to help her stand back up. "Alright, mom," he said to his mother, "we're leaving now."

"Oh, have a good time!" Amelia said to her children. "Eli," she whispered in her son's ear, "I'm worried about your sister. There are a lot of thugs around here, especially since Citadark Isle was destroyed. Please protect her as best as you can. Don't let her out of your sight."

"Mom," Eli replied, "Luna's a Pokemon Trainer and she has been for five years already. She can take care of herself just as well as I can take care of myself. Don't forget, she IS older than me."

"Oh, I suppose..." A worried look still clouded her blue eyes. "Well, take care."

Foul

"We will, mom. Bye!" Eli and Luna walked out fo the house, waving goodbye to their mother as they left.

"So long, Eli! Bye-bye, Missy Moo-moo!" Amelia waved back to her children and she heard Luna groan in exasperation as the wooden door closed behind them.

Amelia sighed. She hoped her children would be okay. Pyrite had always been a tough neighborhood, but with Cipher on the loose, it would get even tougher.

IOh, dear,/I Amelia thought, Iplease be alright./I

"Alright," Eli said, "let me make sure I got this right; we're going to Fateen's place to find out what's up with your nightmares, right?"

They were walking through the mean, foul streets of Pyrite Town, with Luna leading the way. Her blue-gray gaze was unfocused and nervous as she watched out for punks who might try to hurt her. Her back was hunched and her head was hung low. Eli hated seeing this in his sister. Whenever out in public, she was always like this for reasons that he would never understand. Why was Luna so upset? What was there to be nervous about? IExcept for her nightmares,/I Eli reminded himself.

"Yeah, dude," Luna mumbled as they passed the dirty Pokemon Mart. "Like you said during breakfast."

Like many other times, Eli couldn't help but laugh a little when she called him "dude." "Luna–" he began.

A small, smooth object flew towards Luna and landed right on her head. "Ow!" Luna yelled in pain as she rubbed her head where the rock had struck it. "Who did that?"

Eli whipped his head around madly, his chocolate-brown eyes burning with the desire to protect his sister. "What's your prob–"

Eli blinked. There was no one in sight, except for the ordinary Pyrite civilians walking by. (Well, as ordinary as thugs and roughnecks can get.) None of them seemed to be paying any attention to Luna and Eli.

"That's weird," Luna commented. "Where'd that rock come from?"

Eli shrugged. "Dunno. But look; we're already there."

Indeed, the dirty white walls of Fateen's Fortune Telling Chamber were now right in front of Eli and his sister. The words "FORTUNE TELLING" were carelessly painted above the front door in big black letters. It looked like any other building in Pyrite from the outside, but the two teenagers could feel some sort of strange magic working inside of it.

Luna and Eli wordlessly entered Fateen's Fortune Telling Chamber. It was a very strange room, with many colors and patterns scattered all around the roof, ceiling, and walls. It was unlit except for two torches burning with bright orange flames next to a desk that looked so ordinary it was weird in the peculiar building. Sitting in the desk was a somewhat elderly woman with pink hair in two buns at the side of her head. Starry glasses hid her eyes, but it was obvious that she was gazing into a small crystal ball that sat with an eerie purple glow on her desk.

"Um... Fateen?" Luna asked shyly.

Fateen sharply looked up from her crystal ball. "Welcome to Fateen's Fortune Telling Chamber. I am Fateen." Her voice had a very mysterious tone to it, making her emotions hard to read.

"We know," Eli said. "My sister and I–"

Fateen raised a small hand to silence him. "Say no more. Your name is Eli. Your sister Luna had a nightmare that she suspects has a meaning, and you have come to me to interpret it."

Both Luna and Eli blinked in astonishment. How did she know all of this?

"I know this," Fateen continued as though she had read their minds, "because I am Pyrite's fortune teller."

IThis is one crazy old lady,/I Luna thought as she took a few steps forward. "Um... you see, I've been having these dreams..." Luna began to tell Fateen about her nightmares, but Fateen was barely paying attention to the teenaged girl, for she already knew of the dreams Luna had. And, although she hadn't told the young girl just yet, Fateen already had an idea as to what they might mean. And the eccentric old woman had to admit, Luna's dreams were stranger than many she had ever heard of, even many of the dreams that Fateen herself ever had.

"Ah," Fateen sighed when Luna had finished talking. "I see. I have people coming to me nearly every day talking about fortune-telling dreams. Yours, however, are very odd. Many dreams I can interpret easily. But your dreams are clouded. They are not easy to decipher. However, I do have some idea..."

Luna's interest quickened and she took one more rapid step forward. "What?"

"Your first dream, that is the one we will discuss first. You say you have seen two odd-colored ones, yes?"

"Yes, Fateen."

"Well, I am certain that they are ones who you will meet very soon, Luna. As for your second dream... you say they are your own Nidoking and Nidoqueen?"

"Yes."

A shadow crossed over Fateen's face. "I have a feeling that they will face hard times in the near future, but I cannot see quite what that is. But I warn you now, guard them with your life."

Luna was becoming scared nearly out of her wits. "O-Okay, Fateen. What about my third dream?"

"Ah," Fateen sighed again, "that is perhaps the hardest question to answer here, young Luna."

Fateen gazed deeply into her glowing crystal ball, searching for answers to Luna's question. Eli and Luna began to feel so much magic in the room that they themselves stared at the mystical ball, although they could not see anything except for the odd purple glow that it gave off.

After what seemed like forever, Fateen gasped in shock and flinched. Luna and Eli could not see her eyes behind her starry glasses, but they both guessed with dread that Fateen had seen something absolutely horrifying in Luna's third nightmare.

"W-What's wrong?" Luna asked, trembling with fear.

"Luna... I have seen terrible things in your third dream. I have seen a horrifying man, destined to be a cruel assassin willing to do anything for power. Who he is, that I know." Fateen shuddered.

"Who is it?"

"He is the son of a most diabolical man. His name is–"

"Help!"

Fateen broke off when all three of them heard a terrified cry from outside of Fateen's Fortune Telling Chamber. Luna and Eli turned around wildly, ready to have a Pokemon battle with whoever hurt the person who was calling for help.

"Help! Help m–urrrph! Uurph!"

The cry became muffled as a hand that the three could not see covered the mouth that had cried out.

"Who was that?" Eli asked fearfully.

"I dunno, but we have to go help!" Luna exclaimed, determination glowing in her blue-gray eyes like the brightest of flames.

"Luna, are you crazy?! We don't even know what's going on out there! We could get–"

"Go," Fateen said calmly. "There are innocent Trainers in trouble. You must help them, children. It is part of your destiny."

IDestiny?/I Luna thought. IThis woman really IS crazy, for the love of Mew!/I But because of her respect for the psychic old lady, she didn't dare say this out loud. Instead, she simply nodded curtly and said to Eli, "Come on!"

Eli and Luna rushed out of the fortune-telling building as quickly as they could. Outside, they gasped as they saw six men, each dressed in their own red, blue, green, yellow, purple, and brown uniforms. In the red man's arms was a large tan sack that seemed to squirm quite a bit.

The red man raised his head challengingly and exclaimed, "Brothers, beware! We have been spotted! You know what to do!" He spun around once, and Luna guessed that he must have been very strong despite his average size, if he was able to hold that sack and still spin around like that.

"We are sextuplets! We are, we are!" All six of the men cried proudly. "We strike terror throughout the land! For we are... the Hexagon Brothers!"

"More like the Hexagon Idiots," Luna grumbled as she raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

The red man gasped. "How dare you?! We strike terror throughout the land! Brothers!" The rest of the men quickly turned to the red man. "Count off!"

"One!" the blue man shouted.

"Two!" the green man cried.

"Three!" the yellow man yelled.

"Four!" the purple man exclaimed.

"Five!" the brown man called.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. "Wait a minute... five? Only five of us are here?" the red man asked. "Brothers, one of us has gone missing! But he will return soon, I am certain. For now, though, we must not let these kiddies get away!"

Eli rolled his brown eyes. Luna just wanted to spit right in their faces. What idiots! They could barely even count!

"Brothers!" the red man exclaimed. "Get them!"

"Run!" Eli and Luna said fearfully at the same time.

Luna and Eli ran as fast as they could, with the Hexagon Brothers (minus the red one) in hot pursuit. The two teens were so scared that they almost ran into random walls and poles, but fortunately for the Hexagon Brothers, they stayed in the alleys of Pyrite, where they could not be seen.

"Eli," Luna panted as they ran some more, "aren't those creeps... from Cipher? I thought they... were all killed in the Citadark... explosion."

"I hear," Eli gasped, "that the Hexagon Brothers... stayed at the desert lab... when Michael... was at Citadark."

Luna and Eli skidded to a halt, thinking that they were safe. "I can't hear anyone," Luna puffed. "I think... I think we're safe... for now."

"Yeah, I think we finally got away," a voice whispered behind them.

Luna and Eli jumped with shock as they turned around. It was the yellow Hexagon Brother, a devilish grin spread across his face. "By the way," he sneered, "I threw the rock. No reason, in case you're wondering. Just to get on your nerves."

"AAAAHH!" Luna and Eli screamed. They tried to run away, but they were too late; the man dressed in yellow already grabbed them faster than the eye could see.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed proudly as he looked at the two teenagers struggling in his arms. He raised his head and called out, "Brothers!"

The rest of the Hexagon Brothers ran out of the shadows, including the man dressed in red, the squirming bag still clutched tightly in his arms.

"Good work, Brothers!" he praised. "Oh, how Master Greevil will be pleased!"

IMaster Greevil?/I Eli thought, his mud-colored eyes widening. IThey ARE with Cipher!/I Eli knew he had to get away. Luna might not be able to save herself; she was completely out of shape and therefor had virtually no physical strength. But Eli was still strong; he had a chance. Without thinking, Eli delivered a swift bite to the yellow man's arm. Howling in pain, he released his grip on Eli, giving the teenaged boy a chance to escape. Eli slid out of the man's arm and grabbed onto the arm that still held the terrified Luna. But by now the yellow man had recovered and had both of his powerful arms around Luna, and he held her tightly.

"Let her go!" Eli yelled. "What has she ever done to you?"

"Nothing, kiddy," the man dressed in red said calmly. "But we are rounding up any suspicious-looking Pokemon Trainers we find and taking them to Master Greevil himself!"

"Shut up!" the man dressed in purple snapped at his brother. "Idiot!"

"I suppose it doesn't matter now, though. We'll leave the boy alone for now; one boy cannot possibly be a threat to us." With those words, the red man opened his sack for the man dressed in yellow to stuff Luna in. (Luna couldn't help but wonder how they were able to fit her inside of such a small bag, despite all of her fear.)

"Let her go!" Eli charged at the red man, ready to grab the bag and free the people he and his Brothers captured. But the green man was too quick for him; he ran up to Eli and gave him a powerful punch right in the nose, sending Eli crashing to the ground, his nose bleeding bright red blood.

"Hah!" the green man spat at Eli. "Our brotherly power is sixfold!"

"Brothers, escape!" the red man shouted. He and his brothers ran away as fast as a Raichu's lightning.

Eli raised his head in agony as he heard his sister's terrified cries rapidly fading; "Eli, help me! Help me! Help...!"

"...Luna..." Tears began to flood Eli's brown eyes. His sister was gone. Eli had no idea when he would see her again. If he ever saw her again.

Eli shuddered as a few tears leaked from his eyes. Luna had been kidnaped by Cipher. Eli felt so alone without her. And he felt so guilty, for he knew that it was all his fault for not trying hard enough to rescue her.

**CHAPTER 4**

**HATRED**

Eldes bowed his head in shame as Ardos walked back to his seat next to Greevil. Ardos had no reason, no reason at all, to kill Officer Johnson and steal his Growlithe. It was cold-blooded murder. Eldes wondered with great sadness why it had to be this way. Why did Greevil and Ardos want to rule the world so badly? Why did Eldes join Cipher in the first place?

Eldes shook his head, correcting himself. He already knew the answer to the second question. Up to five years ago, Greevil was just your everyday elderly man living with his wife Elda in the care of his sons Ardos and Eldes. The only thing strange about this family was that they were all Pokemon Trainers, and unusually skilled ones at that. When Greevil heard about Evice's arrest, however, he began to feel the need to be someone greater than just a weak old man. He wanted to be the head of Cipher, Grand Master Greevil. As subtle as a fox, he secretly rebuilt Cipher and recruited Pokemon Trainers who, to Greevil, looked tough. It wasn't until two or three years ago that Greevil told Eldes, Ardos, and Elda about his plan. He offered to make them Admins of Cipher when he finally told his family about the plan. Ardos gladly accepted; Eldes could still remember the gleam of anticipation that shone in his brother's eyes. Elda, angered by Greevil's hideous plot and crushed that he would keep something like this from his own wife, left him and the rest of her family forever, saying that she would find someone else to look after her; "Someone who DOESN'T plot evil things like this!" she had screamed as she stormed out the door. Eldes had not heard from her since.

Eldes did not share his brother's enthusiasm. He didn't share his mother's reluctance, either. Instead, he was... uncertain. Yes, being in that position of power was tempting, very tempting indeed. But Eldes wanted to achieve power through good deeds and kindness, not through blood thirst and hatred. He decided to give it a few days to think it over. It was only a day later, however, that Ardos, while Greevil was out recruiting new members, stormed into the small green living room with his face twisted in rage. It was a moment that Eldes would remember for the rest of his life. And the decision he made was one that he would regret forever.

"ELDES!" Ardos had screeched.Eldes looked up sharply from the book he was reading on a white couch, full of anxiety. "What?"

"I know you're reluctant to join Cipher and become an Admin." Ardos's voice was now a hiss-like whisper as he slowly walked over to Eldes. The red-haired young man found the soft hiss even scarier than his brother's violent screams. "Master Greevil knows it as well."

"MASTER Greevil?" Eldes was puzzled. He and Ardos rarely called their father by his name, Greevil, let alone Master Greevil. "Don't you mean Father?"

Ardos narrowed his eyes although Eldes could not see it, for the eyes were hidden by dark shades. "We are not to call him 'father' anymore, fool. He is Grand Master Greevil now."

Eldes nodded, to stunned with shock to speak.

"Now--" Ardos narrowed his eyes as he sat on the soft couch next to Eldes, his voice sounding less like a voice and more like a snake's hissing with each word. "--I know that you do not wish to join Cipher. Not now, at least. But once I'm finished with you, I'm certain you'll change your mind."

Eldes blinked in astonishment. What in Mew's name was his brother trying to say?

"Puzzled?" Ardos hissed. "That is to be expected. But if you don't join Cipher and become an Admin..." Ardos stabbed a finger menacingly at Eldes. "...well, let's just say Master Greevil and I have plans."

Eldes gulped and his blood ran cold. This was a threat. And it sounded very serious, for Ardos was not the kind of person who ever joked.

"So," Ardos hissed again, "will you join?"

Eldes began to sweat a little out of nervousness. "Y-Yes, I'll join. You have my word."

Ardos's thin lips curled. "We'll see about that." He got up and walked away.

Eldes did not go back to reading his book. He... he just didn't feel like it. At least, that's what he tried to tell himself. But he was really too anxious to do anything other than stare blankly at the green wall ahead of him. IOh, sweet Mew above,/I he prayed as a tear filled the corner of his left eye, Iwhat have I done?/I

"Eldes!" an elderly voice roared loudly in his ear.

"Aah!" Eldes was so startled that he fell out of his chair and landed on the hard floor with a thud. He looked up to see Greevil and Ardos looming over him, both of them angry.

"Eldes," Greevil said, "you must stop daydreaming and pay attention to the world around you!" That's when it hit the old man. IHe has been doing this ever since we destroyed Citadark Isle,/I Greevil thought. IWhat is going on in that mind of his?/I

But Ardos had a good guess. IHe's up to something,/I he thought. IBut what?/I

Eldes rubbed his back in pain as he sat back in his hard metal chair. As he sat straight up again, he noticed that the Hexagon Brothers were standing in front of the table, a large, squirming sack in the red man's hands.

"Ah, Resix," Greevil sighed. "It's about time you've gotten here."

"We always get here!" Resix cried. "For we are the Hexagon–"

"We all know who you are!" Ardos snapped. "Now, how many Trainers did you capture?"

"Three," the green man said. Then he muttered to himself, "Only threefold..."

"Stop mumbling to yourself, Greesix," Ardos hissed.

"ONLY three?" Greevil mused. "I have expected you to kidnap more than simply three Trainers. You have all greatly disappointed me."

"B-but M-Master Greevil..." the man dressed in yellow began uneasily, "w-we almost c-captured one oth-other..."

Greevil's amber eyes narrowed frostily until they were nothing more than two small slits on his face. "Is that so, Yellosix?"

"Y-yes, but... he got away..."

Ardos leaped out of his seat and stomped over to Yellosix, nearly fuming with rage. He grabbed the collar of his yellow uniform and lifted him off of his feet until his face was level with the tall blue-haired man's own furious face.

"He WHAT?!" Ardos screeched. "You let him GET AWAY?! WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS HE?!"

Yellosix gagged and gasped. He was barely able to breathe with Ardos trying to strangle him, but the Admin's cold, hard glare and violent shouts pretty much made the Peon breathless. "Ack... he..."

"Ardos, stop this immediately," Greevil ordered calmly. "Let him go now."

Ardos looked as though he would just love to protest, but he didn't dare disobey his master's orders. He dropped Yellosix, who crashed onto the hard floor in a similar way Eldes had just moments before. Ardos went back to his seat, barely able to contain his anger at the Hexagon Brothers. He had a very good reason to be mad at them; not only had they let a potential threat escape, they had also let all of Pyrite Town know that Cipher was still alive! And the news would be all over Orre by the end of the day, Ardos was sure of it.

Greevil sighed and turned his head to Eldes. "Eldes, dispose of Officer Johnson's body while Ardos and I deal with the prisoners." Eldes caught a note of suspicion in his father's voice and saw a hint of distrust in his large mustard-colored eyes. Eldes guessed that Greevil must be wondering what he was planning. Greevil didn't trust his russet-haired son, that much was clear.

Eldes simply nodded and said, "Yes, Master Greevil." He got up out of his seat and walked over to the Officer's body, which was still bleeding sluggishly like a small river. After a brief hesitation, he picked up the motionless body by its arms and carried it out of the dark room.

Eldes blinked in the harsh sunlight. Looking around, he could see that he was in the bone-dry desert, golden-brown sand surrounding him as far as he could see. Yes, the room that he was just in was a small hut that Ardos and Greevil had built for temporary shelter. Eldes did not help build it; he was not permitted to.

In fact, Eldes reflected as he placed Officer Johnson's bloody body on the burning hot sand, Eldes was no longer permitted to preform any kind of duty except for lowly, dirty jobs that were usually given to the lowest-ranking Peons. It was as if he really had been demoted to Peon rank.

Eldes sighed as he stared at the cold, unmoving body. Its skin began to grow pale despite the brilliantly hot sun. What Greevil had told him to do was to get rid of the Officer's body. What his father had not told him to do was what how to get rid of it. Bury it? Burn it? What?

Eldes decided to burn it. It would take long hours, perhaps days, just to dig a hole for the body. And lately, Greevil and Ardos had begun to beat him if his job was not done quickly and effectively. As much as he detested destroying anything, even a dead body, Eldes would much rather watch something burn than get beaten by two men who were easily as strong as he was, if not stronger.

Eldes sighed again as he sent out his Flygon, a big, green-striped, dragonfly-like Pokemon.

"Fly Flygon!" he called as he emerged from the red and white sphere.

Eldes hesitated for just one moment before saying slowly, "Flygon... use Flamethrower on the body."

"Flygon?" Flygon asked. For a second it wondered what his master was talking about, until Eldes pointed at Officer Johnson's motionless body.

"Fly-Flygon!" he exclaimed in shock.

"I know," Eldes sighed sadly. "Ardos killed him. Master Greevil has ordered us to get rid of it. He will most likely kill me if I take too long burying it. So please burn it, Flygon."

Flygon nodded slowly. It took a long, deep breath and then a stream of bright orange flames shot out if its mouth. The body of Officer Johnson quickly became nothing more than a bit of fire, crackling and glowing as a few tiny sparks shot out of it.Eldes bowed his head as he waited for the body to be reduced to nothing but ashes. He thought about who the Officer was. Stupid and a little crazy he was, indeed, but he had served all of Orre for many years with pride and courage. It seemed unfair that he had to go down in vain, murdered in cold blood by a bloodthirsty, heartless man. He and one of his Growlithe were killed simply for disturbing Greevil, and just to make matters worse, Ardos stole the remaining Growlithe. That's when it hit Eldes; he had done nothing to stop it. He could have saved this brave man's life; he could have at least tried to stop Ardos from stealing the Growlithe. But he didn't. He just sat and watched like a fat old man watching a football game on television. Eldes began to cry tears of both sadness and anger. He began to feel an emotion that he had almost never felt in his life; hatred. Hatred for himself, for not trying to save Officer Johnson. Hatred for his own father for bringing Cipher back from the sands of time five years ago.

Most of all, he felt hatred for Ardos, Eldes's own brother and Officer Johnson's murderer.

**CHAPTER 5**

**THIS GUY IS INSANE**

"Aah!" Luna yelped as she was dumped onto a cold, hard floor along with two others she didn't recognize. She blinked and looked around. She was in what appeared to be a prison cell, with metallic gray walls all around her, except for a row of iron bars to her right. Standing in front of her was Ardos, the slender man dressed in handsome blue and gray robes. Luna couldn't help but think that there was something familiar about him... had she seen him somewhere before?

"Little girl," he sneered, "give me your Pokemon! Now!"

Luna's blue-gray eyes widened in alarm. No way was she going to give her Pokemon to a punk like him! "No!" she spat defiantly.

"Then I'll have to take them from you by force!" He began to reach for the brown belt around her waist that had six Poke Balls attached to it.

Quick as lightning, he snatched the belt from Luna, the brown leather breaking with a loud ISNAP!/I as he did so.

"No!" Luna cried as she sprang up and lunged at Ardos. "Let go of them!"

But Ardos was much quicker, and stronger as well. Roaring with the effort of it, he delivered two quick punches to her stomach. Crouching low to the floor and spinning around, he kicked the bottom of Luna's long legs in a very breakdance-like motion, causing her to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

II'm not going to let him beat me up like this!/I Luna thought with determination. Although her whole body was already aching, she courageously rose from the floor and ran at Ardos, weak fists clenched tightly, blue eyes narrowed. She drew back her leg, ready to kick Ardos right where it would hurt him the most...

But Luna was much too slow for Ardos. He took hold of her long, bony leg and flipped her with great strength. She slammed into the floor, completely winded, pain eating at every inch of her body like hungry termites chewing on a wooden house.

Ardos reached down and grabbed Luna's frail arm. As powerfully as he could, he threw her into the steel-hard wall. She crashed into it with a deafening ICLANG!/I and then slid to the floor, too weak to move.

The other two stared at Ardos in astonishment. He smirked. "Now give me all of your Pokemon, both of you, unless you want to end up like HER."

They looked back at Luna, still lying in the shadows and moaning in pain. They sighed. Ardos was obviously much stronger than he looked, and neither of them wanted to get beaten. Trembling with fear, they handed their own belts to the spiderweb-haired Admin without a word.

He snatched the belts from their hands. "Very well," he said coldly as he walked out of the prison cell. He slammed the gate behind him and locked it with a small silver key.

One of the prisoners, a short brown-haired young woman wearing a pink skirt and matching magenta skirt, walked over to the injured Luna as soon as she was sure Ardos was gone. She kneeled down next to her and said, "Are you okay?"

Luna whimpered a bit like a frightened newborn Growlithe. "I... I think..." Her voice was so weak that the other woman could barely hear her.

"Oh..." the woman sighed. "The man who locked us up in here hurt you pretty badly. Look at you; you're covered in bruises! Why would he do this to us?"

"Who cares why?" The tart response came from a tall, skinny young man in sitting in the far corner of the prison cell. His blue eyes were staring at nothing ahead of him, and he ran his thin fingers through his shaggy dark blond hair. "We're prisoners, no explanation needed. And why are you bothering with that girl, Idgea? She let that Cipher Admin beat her up; she is weak and she deserved it."

Luna felt rage boiling inside of her like a volcano ready to erupt. Weak? Weak?! How dare this... this... whoever he was... call her WEAK?! Unable to contain her anger, Luna tried to stand up. However, she was too hurt to get any further than kneeling down; groaning, she clutched her right arm in pain and sat back down. However, she still glared at the man with fierce gray-blue eyes that could pierce through your very soul.

"How could you say such a thing?" Idgea snapped, her orange eyes blazing with anger. "Think about what you might have done if you were in her situation. Would you have been able to stand up to a man who could easily throw you like you were some kind of toy? WERE you able to stand up to him at all? No, you weren't! I think this girl was as strong as anyone could ever be for even thinking about defying him!"

"Pfft," he spat as he brushed some dirt off of his blue and yellow outfit. He turned his back away from them in disgust.

"The nerve of some people," Idgea murmured as she walked back to Luna. She said to the injured girl, "Don't mind him. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Thanks..." Luna replied, "...your name's Idgea, right?"

Idgea nodded. "Yes. Your name?"

"Luna."

"I like that name, Luna. By the way, that's Jake over there. My brother." Idgea rolled her orange eyes in exasperation.

"I have a brother," Luna said, remembering Eli. "His name's Eli. We were just going to see Fateen about these weird dreams I've been having, and then six weird-looking men who called themselves the Hexagon Brothers captured us. Eli escaped and he tried to save me, but those men were too strong..."

Idgea could see the sadness deepening in Luna's blue-gray eyes as she spoke. "I'm sorry. Jake and I were going to compete in the Pyrite Colosseum when we were ambushed by those same men."

"You compete there?" Luna asked. When Idgea nodded, Luna continued to speak. "Eli and I compete sometimes. Sometimes my sister Heather does too, and I have to admit she's pretty good at battling."

Idgea was about to respond when they heard a mad voice from outside of their cell. "What is it you're talking about? I demand to know this instant!"

Idgea's and Luna's attention turned to the man standing behind the iron bars. Their hearts sank to their stomachs when they realized who he was. It was Ardos!

"Ah," Ardos growled, "I see you two have some pathetic little thoughts about escaping."

The girls' eyes widened. What Ardos was saying was completely false; they were talking about the Pyrite Colosseum, not escape plans!

"What are you talking about?" Luna spat. "We weren't talking about escape plans, you idiot!"

Idgea slammed her hand over Luna's mouth as soon as she heard the words "you idiot." Luna herself regretted what she said as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

"Lies!" Ardos roared. "Not only do you lie, you insult me to my face! Come with me!" With those words, Ardos unlocked and opened to gate to the cell. The girls could almost see steam coming out of his ears as he stormed over to them, his rage apparent in each stomping step he took.

"Get up," he ordered.

Idgea did as she was told and stood up. Luna tried to do the same, but her injuries caused her to rise very slowly. Ardos grew very impatient as he waited for the teenaged girl to stand up.

"Come on," he growled, "move! Move!"

Luna looked Ardos straight in the eyes with pure hatred. She spat, "Your fault for hurting me like this, you ugly, goddamned pile of Tauros-crap! May Deoxys damn your soul to hell, you son of a–"

Okay, now Ardos was extremely angry at this little girl. He gave her a swift punch to the jaw before she could finish her series of curses and insults.

Luna flinched and Ardos grabbed her neck, all his fury contained in that one movement. "You have some nerve," he growled, "to say that to my face, little girl." His grip on her fragile neck tightened as he said each word.

Luna was now gasping for air. It was clear that Ardos was trying to hurt her, but she only hoped that he wouldn't kill her.

No, Ardos had no intention of killing the girl. He knew that she could be of some use to Cipher, unlike Officer Johnson. She was physically weak, but Ardos and Greevil could easily whip her into shape. Ardos had previously looked at her selection of Pokemon, and she had a very impressive team; with a Mightyena, Dragonite, Marowak, Blaziken, Nidoqueen, and Nidoking, it was easy to imagine her as a tough opponent in battle. Along with the other two prisoners, she would make a perfect slave for Cipher, no doubt about that.

But this was a wild girl, not afraid to speak her mind, not afraid to stand up for herself. IWell,/I Ardos thought, Iwe'll just have to change that, won't we?/I Ardos's grip on Luna tightened even further. However, he did not intend to kill her. After all, even he would not waste such a great slave over a bit of anger. He just wanted to break her. He wanted to break her heart, her mind, her very soul. A girl as aggressive as Luna had to be tamed in order to be useful. Ardos knew that there was no better way to do that than physical torture. No, there was one other way that worked even better; but that method would cost Ardos a great amount of energy. Not only would he harm Luna, he would also risk killing her and even himself if he used it with too much power. He would not use the other method unless torture turned out to have no effect.

Idgea could do nothing but stare at Ardos and Luna, utter shock in her orange eyes. To her surprise, Ardos dropped Luna just as it looked like she was about to die. Luna lay on the cold, hard floor, gasping for the air that she was in so much need of just a second ago. Now she didn't dare say anything against the cruel Cipher Admin as she got back up and followed him out of the cell, Idgea close behind.

Jake watched in silence with an unreadable expression on his face. IThis is what friendship can do to a person,/I he thought. IGlad I don't have any friends at all./I

As Ardos shut and locked the way into the prison cell, Luna whispered in Idgea's ear, "This guy is insane."

**CHAPTER 6**

**ICE-BLUE EYES**

"No!" Heather cried with great despair. "Why did this have to happen, Eli? Why'd you have to let Luna get taken away?"

Only a few hours had passed since Luna was kidnapped by Cipher. Heather and her older brother Eli were sitting on a small creamy brown couch in the wooden living room of their house. Heather was sobbing uncontrollably while holding onto Eli as though she just couldn't let go. Eli shared his sister's sadness, but he tried to be strong for her.

"Heather, I did everything I could," Eli comforted. "But... I don't think it was enough. I told Mom about it, and she's calling the police right now. I'm sure the police will save Luna; they always save everyone." Eli knew that they didn't ALWAYS save everyone, but he wanted to help his sister feel a little better.

He tried to smile, but Heather knew that Eli was just as upset as she was. She looked at him with big cerulean eyes that were still sending tears rolling down her cute, round cheeks. Eli's heart ached for her; although Luna had always disliked her younger sister, Heather looked up to her. She always wanted to be a powerful Pokemon Trainer with a strong, seemingly invincible mind, just like her big sister. And now her role model was gone.

"Where is she?" Heather asked the question even though she knew that Eli did not have the slightest clue as to where Luna could possibly be.

Eli shook his head. "I... I don't know." Tears began to form in his own chocolate-brown eyes and his voice, although usually optimistic and comforting, shook with sorrow. "I just hope she's okay."

"I do, too," Heather sobbed as she hugged Eli even tighter.

Eli sighed. He just didn't know what to do for his younger sister. Nothing he said would comfort her, that was clear. He did want to find out what the police knew about the abduction, however. His mother and the police were talking outside; he could easily listen in.

"Heather," Eli began, "I'm going to see what Mom and the police are talking about. You won't be home alone, don't worry; Dad's upstairs, I think."

Heather wiped her large blue eyes and nodded.

"Okay," Eli said. "Don't leave the house, okay?"

"Okay, Eli," Heather said, still sobbing a little.

Eli got up and left Heather to cry some more on the couch. He hesitated before walking towards the front door. He knew that eavesdropping was wrong, and he didn't like to get into trouble. However, he managed to push his goody-goody attitude aside for once. Even he knew that sometimes rules had to be broken. Eli slowly pressed his right ear against the wooden door and tried to focus his sense of hearing on the conversation going on outside.

"...will do our best to find Cipher and your daughter," a feminine voice said. "We can't guarantee anything, though."

"Thank you, Officer Jenny." Eli recognized Amelia's voice. "I hope she's okay."

"Well, if you want the truth, ma'am, we probably won't be able to get her back," Officer Jenny replied. "Remember, Cipher is probably the most brutal of all the organizations in Orre; they might try to kill her. And even if we do get her back, she could be very badly hurt."

Eli's brown eyes widened at what he had just heard. His heart thudded in his chest like a trapped Spearow trying to break out of its cage. He had known since she was captured that Luna would probably not be okay, but until now he had tried to deny it. Now that he realized that there was no escaping reality, he wanted to cry until his brown eyes ran dry. But he also knew that he had to be strong, not just for Heather and Amelia, but for himself, as well.

Eli heard his mother take a deep, shuddering breath. "Oh... my daughter..."

"We'll do what we can," Officer Jenny said, trying to sound as comforting as she could.

"Thank you again," Amelia said.

"I must be off, now. We will let you know as soon as we figure something out."

A few seconds later, Eli heard the "Vroom, VROOM," of a motorcycle ringing loudly in his ears. As the noise began to fade, Eli realized that his mother would be coming in the house any second. If he ever got in trouble for eavesdropping, it would certainly be the end of him! As quick as lightning and as quiet as a mouse, he ran upstairs just before the door opened and Amelia walked into the room.

Getting in trouble wasn't the only thing on Eli's mind, however. He just wanted to get away... he wanted to get away from reality, from his sister's capture, from the heartache that seemed to haunt the house like a ghost. He ran into his bedroom and flew onto his white and blue bed after slamming the door behind him.

Eli buried his face in his soft white pillow to try to smother the sounds of his anguished sobs. Unlike many, he did not consider negative emotions weak, but he wanted to assure his family that he would be fine; even though he wasn't.

IWhy?/I Eli wondered with despair. IWhy her? Why Luna? What did she do? Of anyone, ANYONE AT ALL, they had to take HER! She never did anything to hurt them!/I Although his sister could be aggressive, she would never dare to attack an organization that could easily crush her with their hands tied behind their backs. Eli couldn't imagine why they'd see Luna as a threat at all.

IMaybe,/I Eli thought, Ithey've seen her compete in a Pyrite Colosseum match! Oh hell, no!/I

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Eli?" a soft, anguished voice whispered.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

Without lifting his head from the pillow, Eli mumbled, "Come in."

From behind him, Eli could hear the sound of a door opening and soft footsteps approaching his bed. Although Eli wondered who was there, he was so upset that he didn't have the strength to speak of even lift his head.

"Eli, sweetie," the voice whispered, "it's me, Mom."

"Mom?" Eli mumbled grimly. "Why did they have to take her? Why couldn't they have just taken me instead?"

Eli felt a soft, plump hand gently stroke his long, dirty-blond hair. "I don't know," Amelia sighed. "I've called the police, dear. They said they'll do whatever they can. I'm... I'm sure your sister will be okay." Amelia tried to sound reassuring, but Eli detected a note of doubt in her usually cheerful voice.

Eli sighed and squirmed a little. It was times like these that he preferred to be alone, but he just didn't have the heart to tell his mother to go away.

Amelia got the hint. She said, "Alright, Eli. I'll... go make dinner now. Is chicken okay?" She knew that chicken was Eli's favorite.

"No, thanks," Eli replied. "I'm not that hungry."

"I'll save a little for you in case you change your mind, okay?"

"Fine," grumbled Eli.

Without another word, Eli's mother left the bedroom, slowly and gently shutting the wooden door behind her.

Eli spent the rest of the night in his bedroom, either staring blankly at the ceiling or burying his face in his pillow, crying for his sister. Hours slowly went by, but in Eli's depressed state every hour seemed like a day. As the sun set below the horizon, Eli thought about Luna's kidnaping. The scene played over and over again in his mind. Her desperate cries, the Hexagon Brothers' chant, and his own attempt to escape. He had escaped; he was lucky. But they would probably come back for him, Eli knew that. And by then, Cipher would probably have recruited many more members, perhaps ones who were even more dangerous than the Hexagon Brothers.

Those fearful thoughts were quickly replaced by others, however. Eli desperately wanted his sister back. But what could he do? He was just a fourteen-year-old kid, and this was an organization who could tear him apart as though he were a piece of tissue paper!

Then he thought of Michael. Michael was even younger than Eli, and yet he had saved many people from Cipher. He had not won the war; it was unlikely that he had even survived the explosion on Citadark Isle. But he had severely weakened them to the point where they had, at most, only ten followers. IIf a ten-year-old kid can do all of that,/I Eli thought, Ithen maybe–MAYBE--I can save Luna. Maybe.../I

Eli's last thought before finally drifting to sleep was, II'll find a way to rescue her. No matter what it takes, I'll find a way to bring her back home where she belongs./I

As all of that was happening, a tall, blue-haired man was guiding two prisoners away from their cell and to a steel door. The man was Ardos, and the prisoners were none other than Idgea and Luna.

"Wow, Luna," Idgea whispered. "How could you have said that? Do you even know who he is?"

"Don't know, don't care," Luna responded sharply.

"That's Ardos," Idgea replied fearfully. "He's one of the strongest of Greevil's goons. And it looks like you've really pissed him off."

"Oh, shit," Luna muttered. "Well, I'm still glad I said it. Anyone who treats me like THAT ought to get slapped upside the head."

"Oh, do I?" Ardos swiftly spun around to face Luna. "You insult me AGAIN, little girl?" Ardos's face was now only an inch away from her's. "You are too strong for your own good."

Luna's silver-blue eyes widened. Ardos's voice sounded very familiar... she HAD seen him before! And now that she thought about it, she was sure she caught a glimpse of an ice-blue glow behind the Cipher Admin's shades that sent chills running down her spine. Of course! Ardos was–

POW! The next thing Luna knew, she was lying on the floor, blood slowly trickling down her chin. When she looked up, she could see Ardos with a clenched fist, glaring at her with a vicious look on his face.

"Luna, are you okay?" Idgea asked in shock once Ardos turned his back on them.

Luna only half-heard her. Her attention was on Ardos, her blue eyes very wide.

"It's him," Luna whispered. "He's the one I saw in my dream."

"What?" asked Idgea, a puzzled look in her orange eyes.

"Remember when I mentioned those weird dreams I've been having?" Luna asked.

Idgea nodded, but before Luna could say more the girls heard a loud, deep voice. "Are you two going to just sit there talking like a couple of old ladies?" growled Ardos. He was now facing them, his expression frustrated. "Let's go, unless you want your punishment to be worse than it already is."

Luna and Idgea obeyed without a word and followed him through the door and into another small, dark room. Ahead of them, the girls could just see the outline of a short, elderly man sitting in a small steel chair in front of a steel table. Although he appeared harmless, there was something about him that seemed deadly.

"Master Greevil," Ardos growled ferociously, "I caught these two talking about escape plans. Hmph... fools. They thought they could fool us. They thought we're stupid! Well–" Ardos turned his head sharply so that his gaze bore into Luna's own eyes, "–not so stupid, are we, little girl?" Ardos began to laugh maniacally, and Luna definitely thought that the Admin was stupid, even crazy; she could almost see specks of foam streaming from Ardos's mouth as he laughed.

"No, of course I don't think you're stupid," Luna began gently, but her tone grew louder and meaner as she said, "I just think you're totally, completely, and utterly insane! That's what I think, you moron!"

Ardos curled his lips, revealing pointed, pearl-white teeth. His nostrils flared in anger as he spun around to face Greevil. "See how she insults me to my face, Master Greevil? She is horrible!"

Greevil nodded calmly. "I can see that. Ardos... I believe it is time."

"I get to kill her?" Ardos asked eagerly.

Greevil sighed. His blue-haired son was a killer; he always had the talent of splattering everywhere the blood of his victims. But Greevil knew that there were times to kill, and times to spare lives. This was a time to spare a life, for Greevil knew that Luna could be a very useful slave if she was tamed. "No, Ardos, not this time. However..." Greevil's expression grew intense. "...use your powers. Nothing else will work on one as strong-willed as her."

A huge, wicked grin spread across Ardos's face. It was said that every one hundred years, twins would be born with the powers of fire and ice. Ardos had ice powers, and he had known how to use them well since he was a young teenager. After years of training, he had even found a way to tear apart the inner strength of even grown men.

Eldes had the fire powers, but he had never practiced them, not once. "I don't want to use my powers," he would always say. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

But Ardos loved his abilities. If only it didn't drain so much of his strength afterwards!

Also, it was also said that, in those who had the powers, they would grow up as either one who was nothing other than evil or one with a kind, gentle heart. Those with the powers were either good or evil; no gray area in between. In Ardos, the powers had given him a cruel, vicious personality.

Ardos's thoughts were interrupted when they heard someone slowly come in from the other door. It was none other than Eldes, his head hung low in grief and... was that anger that Ardos saw on his brother's face?

"Eldes," said Greevil, "you're just in time."

"In time for what?" growled Eldes.

A wicked look flashed in Greevil's lemon-yellow eyes. "You know very well what you're in time for."

Eldes's heart skipped a beat, and he wished he didn't know what he was in time for.

"Scared?" hissed Ardos. "You should be, Eldes. I know that you have never seen this before. And remember, betray us and it could happen to you as well."

Unlike Eldes, Luna wasn't scared, not one bit. She would much rather go down fighting than survive being a coward. Unfortunately for her, she did not know what Ardos was capable of. "Bring it on!"

Ardos shook his head from side to side, causing his long dark blue hair to ripple like a flowing river. Although it should have been a handsome motion, somehow it still icy chills running down Luna's spine. "You fool," Ardos hissed. "What you are about to go through is the worst experience you will ever have. And there is no escape."

Slowly, very slowly, Ardos crept toward Luna. She could have run away–she should have. But pure terror kept her frozen where she stood. Idgea and Eldes, who were watching with wide, stunned eyes, were no better off. Ardos's shades fell off of his face, revealing sinister ice-blue eyes that were handsome and yet were filled with frosty evil. The shades dropped to the floor and shattered as though they were made of ice.

IHe has the ice abilities!/I Luna realized with horror.

Ardos's body began to glow with a deadly ice-blue light. The air around him grew colder and colder with each step he took; he could even see his own breath in small, misty clouds. Luna's body also grew cold; she felt as though the sun had disappeared and left her with nothing but coldness.

"You should not have acted the way you did," Ardos hissed. His voice, which was usually very deep and powerful, now sounded like chips of ice shattering on the ground as it echoed throughout the dark room. "This is your punishment, little girl."

Ardos was now only a few feet from Luna. He shut his ice-blue eyes tightly and concentrated all of his cold emotions, all of the anger, pain, and sadness buried deep within his heart.

"TSEEEEEEEEEEEER!" With a hawk-like screech, Ardos unleashed all of his energy in an explosion of snow and ice. Ardos and Luna were trapped in the swirling vortex of the storm.

Icy chills swept through every inch of Luna's tall, skinny body. Although she was growing weaker and weaker with each millisecond that went by, she found the strength to look up at Ardos.

He opened his glowing ice-blue eyes, a devilish smirk spread across his face. The icy chills grew as worse as they could ever be, and pain stabbed at her body like the sharpest daggers. She screamed as loud winds began to form.

"You're getting what you deserve!" Ardos yelled above the wind. "You shouldn't..." Ardos trailed off as his voice grew weaker and weaker. "...shouldn't... shou..." As his voice grew weaker, so did his power. The deafening winds faded and the air grew warmer as the icy environment seemed to melt.

But Luna found nothing comforting in the fact that Ardos and his (literally) cold grip on Luna was weakening. She was still trembling with pain, and the image of Ardos's ice-blue eyes remained in her head.

The glow faded from Ardos as the world grew back to normal. Luna fell to the floor, trembling with so much anguish that she couldn't even keep herself standing. Ardos continued to glare at Luna with his sinister ice-blue eyes, trying to get the power back. But he had used up too much strength. Tongue hanging from his mouth like a hot, thirsty dog, he panted heavily before collapsing into a dead faint.

Eldes and Idgea were frozen with shock at what they had just seen. Luna had just gone through the ultimate torture; it was perhaps worse than any death, even Officer Johnson's. No one deserved that; no one.

Greevil was unmoved. He just laughed maniacally like the heartless villain he was. He just laughed and laughed. He loved seeing people in pain; nothing pleased him more.

And it was easy for all of them to see that only one of Luna's eyes were still gray-blue. The other was ice-blue.


	2. Chapter 1: Luna's NightmareStrange Boy

1**CHAPTER 1**

**LUNA'S NIGHTMARE AND A STRANGE BOY**

"Where am I?!"

The dark gray-blue-haired teen girl whipped her head around in alarm, her gray-blue eyes wild with fear behind her round, metal-rimmed glasses. Her long, denim coat flowed with the motion of her tall body as she began to break into a sprint. But no matter where she turned, no matter which direction she ran, she couldn't get away from the white emptiness that surrounded her.

"Where am I?!" she cried again, her voice echoing in the terrible whiteness. Fear rose in her heart like a fever during a terrible sickness.

With little warning, her world began to dissolve into darkness, darker than she could ever imagine. The girl screeched. Never before had she been in a blackness as dark and deadly as this.

_Thud, thud, thud._

The girl twirled around in alarm. What was that?

_Thud, thud, THUD._

No! It was getting louder! Getting closer!

_THUD, THUD, THUD._

_What is that?!_ the girl wondered in fear.

_THUD, THUD, THUD!_

Footsteps! Louder than she had ever heard, and they were approaching with an incredible speed.

"Who are you?" the girl called, trying her best to sound brave. "Show yourself!"

"Gladly!" a deep male voice called out.

"AAAAHH!!" The girl screeched as her world burst into dark purple flames. Fiery pain ran through her body like the burn from a Houndoom. And then, for a short instant, a brilliant white light blinded her, and she had to narrow her large eyes to protect them. When the light cleared, the purple fire was still all around her, but the pain was gone. In front of her stood dozens, maybe even hundreds of men and women dressed in pearl-white armor as bright as the flash that had almost blinded the girl.

Her heart filled with dread like water emptying from a waterfall to a river when she saw the man at the head of the deadly-looking army. He was a slender, long-haired man, and all of his body was hidden by shadows except for his sinister ice-blue eyes that seemed to see right through girl's every thought, every dream, every desire. Low, almost inaudible voices whispered something in the girl's ears, though she could not make out what they were saying.

"We will rule!" he cried wickedly. "We shall rule over all others!"

The teenage girl lifted her head to look the man in the pale blue eyes. "I warn you now; little girl, do not try to resist us. Or you WILL regret it!" the man hissed.

To the girl's great surprise, the man's expression instantly changed from pure evil to gentle concern. "Luna, wake up!" he said in a now-boyish voice. "Wake up! Luna!"

"Aaaaah!" Luna opened her eyes. "What?" She reached for her glasses on the wooden side-table next to her bed and put them in front of her gray-blue eyes. A long-haired boy just a year younger than she kneeled in front of her, concern showing in his mud-colored eyes.

"You were screaming in your sleep, Luna," the boy explained. "You were screaming about ruling over others and regretting something. Are you okay?"

"I think so, Eli," Luna said, relieved that it was just a dream. And yet... there was something about her nightmare... something that...

"Luna?" Eli asked, seeing the fear on Luna's face.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's nothing, really."

Even though Luna tried to smile, Eli was still unconvinced. He knew there was something that was bothering his sister. _But I'll let her tell me when she wants to tell me,_ he thought.

"No, it's not nothing!" a shrill, girly voice said from the bedroom doorway.

Eli and Luna turned their heads to see their small, spunky blond-haired younger sister, still in her girly pink nightgown. "Luna, don't be silly! You had a bad dream, didn't you? I know you did! I know you did! I really, really know you–"

"Put a lid on it, Heather," Luna said in an exasperated tone.

"No way! I'll never put a lid on it!" At this point, Heather started bouncing up and down. "And you're lucky Mom and Dad can sleep through everything! Or else they'd be all over you, worrying about you and crying over you and fussing over you and stuff!"

"Oh, Jirachi." Eli rolled his eyes as he walked over to Heather and began to push her out of the room.

"Eli, stop! I wanna stay, don't make me leave!"

Eli began to push Heather out of Luna's room, but the little girl tightly held onto the doorway.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't try to kick me out! I'll tell Mommy and Daddy!"

"Come on, Heather," Eli said. "If you wake up Mom and Dad, they're not going to be happy with you. You'll get a time-out for sure."

_Good old Eli,_ Luna thought. Always thinking of things so quickly. _I'm damn lucky to have a brother like him._

Heather's big sapphire-colored eyes widened in fright. "Okay, but you haven't seen the last of me!" she exclaimed dramatically as she made her way back to her bedroom.

"She really grinds my nerves," Eli said when he was sure his younger sister had gone.

"Gotta agree with you, dude," Luna said. "Sometimes I wish she was never born."

"Well, I wouldn't wish something as horrible as THAT," Eli replied.

"By the way, what time is it?"

"I think it's about five, five-thirty in the morning."

"Holy crap, that's early."

"Yeah, you never were a morning person."

"Nope."

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to go eat breakfast."

"I'll be right down. I just need to get dressed."

"You do that, Luna. Later," Eli said as he walked out of Luna's bedroom.

"See you, dude."

When Eli left the room, Luna looked around, to make sure she still wasn't dreaming. No, she was still in her bedroom: same wooden walls; the closet was still next to her white wooden door; her desk still next to her closet, cluttered with pieces of paper, books, and pencils; same bookshelf against the wall opposite of the door; her side table next to her bed was still next to the bookshelf; and, yes, she was still in her same white bed.

Luna breathed a big sigh of relief as she crawled out of the covers, walked over to her door, and shut the door. But she still couldn't shake off the fear from her dream, and the image of the tall, shady man with the frightening ice-blue eyes.

This wasn't the first time she had one of these nightmares, either. The night before, she had a dream about a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen, shrouded in black auras, battling each other with a ferocity that Luna had never seen before. Before that night, she dreamed of a huge, bulky man, bigger than any man she had ever seen, with unusually dark tan skin. With him was a girl around the age of eleven or twelve, with equally tanned skin.

But the strangest thing was, Luna reflected as she put on her black shirt, long jeans, and long denim coat, she could very clearly remember all of these dreams. Normally, she could almost never remember any kind of dream she had. And if she could, it was usually just bits and pieces of the dream. But the dreams she'd been having these past few days... she could remember them as clearly as if they actually happened.

_I'm not usually one to believe in omens and all that crap,_ Luna thought as she brushed her thick, dark gray-blue hair, _but maybe I should tell Fateen, this town's fortune teller, about my dreams._ She shook her head. _Or maybe I should tell Eli about it first. He might know what to do; he always does._

Luna sighed as she put her hairbrush down on her wooden desk. She left her bedroom and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

Luna sighed again as she looked at her surroundings. The stairs, wooden. The walls, wooden. Even the handrail was wooden. So much wood everywhere. Luna hated it. The rest of Pyrite Town all had modern houses, made of metal that was a bit rusted. But Luna's family liked things that were old-fashioned. She had often complained to her parents about the oldness of their home, about how the other citizens of Pyrite thought Luna's family was crazy. "Now, now, sweetie-pie," her mother, Amelia, would always say, "you'll never know what it really means to live unless you live like they did waaaaaay back in the old days." And then Amelia would start rambling about her childhood and how she was pampered like a princess. Every single time, her mother would never listen to poor Luna.

Her father, Robert, listened to Luna. But he never did anything about it. He was just fat, lazy old man who left his wife and children to do all the work in and out of the house.

_But that's the least of my problems right now,_ Luna thought as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal and milk. At least all of the appliances were modern.

Luna took the bowl of cold cereal and walked over to the wooden table. She sat next to Eli, who was already crunching on a piece of toast. "Hi, Luna."

"Hi, Eli," Luna said. "Listen, there's something that I need to talk to you abou–"

Luna was interrupted when the television on the table flickered on. A pretty woman with beautiful purple hair and a fancy ruby-red dress appeared on screen. "We bring you breaking ONBS news!" she said, sounding a bit troubled but trying her best not to show it. "Citadark Isle, which has recently been discovered to be Cipher's base, exploded at exactly seven o'clock last night. Michael Fir, the boy who has been fighting Cipher for the past month and a half, was supposedly on the island at the time of the explosion. Investigators have found over a hundred bodies, including the Cipher Admins Lovrina, Snattle, and Gorigan, but no traces of Michael or his Robo Kyogre have been found. This has lead many experts to suspect that the boy had been captured by Cipher's leader, Greevil, and that Greevil took the Robo Kyogre with him prior to the explosion. Stay tuned for more details."

The television turned off on its own, leaving Luna and Eli to stare at it, wide-eyed with shock.

"Did you hear that?" Eli asked in astonishment.

Luna nodded slowly, almost completely forgetting about her nightmares. "I heard that."

"And you know what it means, don't you?"

"Yeah. It means that Orre will be as good as gone soon."

A tall, muscular man with long black hair stared at the seemingly endless ocean ahead of him as the sun began to set below the horizon, a small fishing spear gripped in his right hand. So far, he had not caught a single fish for his village, not even a tiny Magikarp. It was considered shameful for a man to return from hunting empty-handed, and he had to get back to his village before nightfall.

The man sighed. He supposed he would have to...

Huh? He began to see a shape in the distance. Some kind of... he didn't know what the hell it was.

"Leaf, why are you just standing there when you should be hunting?" a masculine voice next to the man demanded.

The man named Leaf turned his head to see a man even more immense than he was, with a long, diagonal scar on his face. He, too, held a fishing spear in his right hand, but he carried a whole sack full of dead fish-Pokemon in his other hand.

"Thunder, look," Leaf said. "There is something out there. In the ocean."

"Leaf, my brother, you must be going crazy," Thunder said. "The ocean is endless. There is nothing beyond those vast waters, except for the sun and the moon when they sink, and the sea Pokemon."

"But that is not the sun or the moon, and I do not think that is a Pokemon." Leaf pointed at the strange shape drifting toward their island. "It is like nothing anyone has ever seen. I do believe there are others..."

Thunder rolled his black eyes. His younger brother could be so ridiculous, believing in others beyond the ocean.

The mysterious shape drifted closer and closer, and Leaf continued to stare at it. Soon, its shape became clear. It was similar to a Kyogre, but with something puffy and red like a thick cloud was lying below it, keeping the Kyogre-like thing afloat.

"Leaf, it is coming closer!" Thunder exclaimed. "I was right! It must be a Pokemon! If we kill it, just imagine how much the village will appreciate our efforts! There appears to be enough to–"

Leaf gave his older brother a hard nudge with his massive elbow. "No. Look."

The strange thing was almost at the island's shore now. The two brothers could see its coloring now that it was closer; similar to that of a Kyogre, but it appeared to be very shiny and metallic. The top of it was transparent, showing a very small boy lying unconscious or dead inside of it.

Leaf's coal-black eyes widened in alarm. What the hell was this thing? Who was that boy inside of it?

"There is a small child inside of that Pokemon, or whatever it is," Leaf said.

Thunder blinked in disbelief. His brother... his strange brother who believed in strange things such as others beyond the ocean and an afterlife... was right? There WERE others, after all?

The strange thing floated onto the sandy shore, and they could see exactly what it was. Some kind of mutated Kyogre with a transparent top and a bloated red cloud-like object below it, they figured. However, it did not seem to move. It appeared... dead.

The boy inside of it was lying motionless on his side, his face hidden from view because of the thick red hair that draped over it.

...Red hair?

"Thunder," Leaf said, alarmed. "Look at this child. His hair is strange, very strange!"

"Yes," Thunder replied. "It is very strange. Hair should not be red. It should be black, like everyone else's."

"Strange or not, however, I believe he needs help. We must get him out of this thing."

"Leaf, you are even stranger than this boy if you think we need to get him out of there. He is from beyond the vast waters. We do not know what he is capable of, or how he even got in that thing. He could be a threat to us."

"Thunder!" Leaf snapped. "This boy will not harm us! See how small he is. He is unconscious, and he appears hurt. He could die if we do not take him back to the village and let the healers care for him."

Thunder sighed in exasperation. "Leaf, there are many times when you annoy me to the point where I wish to kill you. Frankly, this is one of those times. I do, however, see your point. Alright, I will help you get him out of this thing."

"The question is, how do we get him out of there?" Leaf asked, inspecting the strange object. "There does not appear to be an opening."

"Then we shall break it open!" Thunder raised his fishing spear.

"I suppose, but be careful not to hurt–"

Leaf's words fell on deaf ears. Thunder ferociously stabbed his spear at the transparent part of the machine, and it shattered into dozens of pieces that cut the boy's delicate skin.

"Thunder, what are you doing?" Leaf demanded furiously. "You are hurting the poor boy even further!"

"Well, at least we saved him from this transparent... whatever it is!"

Leaf shook his immense, strong head. His brother could be so heartless at times! "Never mind. We need to get him to shelter." With those words, Leaf gently picked the boy up with his giant, muscular arms.

Leaf gasped in shock. This boy looked even weirder now that he saw him up close. Not only was his hair red, he also wore strange clothing; a black and yellow shirt and blue pants, and something brown covered his feet. It very different from the Ursaring skins that Leaf and everyone else wore. Blood slowly oozed from the cuts Thunder gave him, but that was nothing unusual. Attached to the boy's left arm was something that appeared to be made out of the same material as the thing he was trapped inside of, but it was gray, not blue like the thing he was just inside of a few seconds ago. His left arm was also covered in blood that was drying at this point, and it was badly twisted to a weird angle. A large bruise made his forehead look blue.

That, however, was the least strangest quality this boy had. He was so small and thin. And his skin... it was so pale, white, even! Everyone else Leaf knew had skin that was some shade of brown, ranging from dark brown to light tan. Leaf's own skin was brownish-tan. But white! Never before had Leaf seen such pale skin.

"That child is a freak!" Thunder exclaimed. "I shall kill him now, for a boy as freakish as he does not belong in the world!" Thunder raised his spear again, ready to stab the boy's heart.

"Thunder, no!" Leaf grabbed the spear from his brother just before it could touch the boy. "Why does his appearance matter so much to you? We must take him to the village."

Thunder sighed. "I suppose you are right," he said, though he still sounded bitter. Leaf and his brother quickly walked away from the sandy beach and into the jungle where their village lay, leaving the gentle ocean waves to lap at the Kyogre-like object.


	3. Chapter 2: Kind Healersand First Kill

1**CHAPTER 2**

**KIND HEALERS... AND FIRST KILL**

"Ugh..." Michael groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He was in a small cave lit by what looked like a campfire. Surrounding him were four women who he didn't recognize, all of them wearing what appeared to be Ursaring skins. Michael blinked in surprise. They was so dark! He had never seen skin as brown as this or hair so black and long before. Where in Mew's name was he?

An uneasy murmuring swept through the group of women. "He is waking up!" one of them said fearfully. "Will he try to kill us?"

"His eyes! Look at his eyes!" That was what the loudest of the women said. "They are green! Not black like ours, but green! This is all wrong!"

"Wh-where am I?" Michael asked weakly.

Three of the women gasped and backed away slowly, except for the youngest of them, a girl who seemed to be around Michael's age. She stood where she was standing before, clearly not afraid of this foreign boy.

"Stranger," the girl said, "you are in our village. We are the healers, and we are here to help you."

"Village?" Michael asked, confounded by these strange women's odd accent. "What village?"

"Oh, do not bother with him, Star," one of the older healers said in exasperation. "This boy would not know left from right."

"Raindrop," Star said to her, "I do not believe he is stupid. He is just not from around here. Remember what Thunder and Leaf said, that they found him in the ocean. He would not know of our ways."

"An ocean boy?" Raindrop spat. "That is downright ridiculous!"

"Please, Raindrop, allow me to ask this boy where he came from. I am sure he can tell us."

Raindrop sighed. "Go on ahead, Star."

"Thank you, Raindrop," Star said, bowing respectfully. She walked over to Michael and kneeled down beside him, kindness in her jet-black eyes. "Hello, strange boy. My name is Star, as you have probably figured out by now. Please tell me, where did you come from?"

Michael blinked again, trying to recall the event from before he was knocked out. There was the battle with Greevil, the argument between Ardos and Eldes, and the explosion of Citadark Isle... he remembered nothing else of the events after Citadark Isle's explosion, except for waking up in this cave.

"I... I come from Orre," he said.

"Orre?" Star asked, interested in this weird boy's origins. "I have never heard of such a place. You see, we have always thought that there was nothing beyond the vast oceans surrounding our island. Up until now, we thought our village were the only humans in existence. That is, until my older brothers Leaf and Thunder found you."

"I see. Orre is a huge continent with a hot climate. There aren't many wild Pokemon there, but there are a lot of Pokemon Trainers."

"Pokemon Trainers?" Star asked again.

"People who capture Pokemon to use for battles," Michael explained.

"You come from an odd place, strange boy. We do not often capture Pokemon here. We use them mostly for food."

"Where I come from, your village would be considered an 'odd place,' you know. Anyway, why's your skin so dark?"

"I was about to ask you a similar question. You see, we have never seen anyone so small and so pale. Your spiky red hair, white skin, and green eyes are strange to us. They are different from our black hair and eyes, and brown skin."

"I'm not really sure why. I was just born like that."

"That is the answer I was about to give you." Star gave a kind smile. "By the way, I do not think I have gotten your name, strange boy. What are you called?"

"My name's Michael."

"Michael?" Star asked confusedly. "I have never heard of a Michael. What is it?""It's just a name. It isn't really anything, I don't think."

Star smiled again. "Well, Michael, it seems we have much to learn from each other. You see, our names are not just names. They have meanings. For example, my name is Star, as in the stars in the night sky."

"I see." With each word that was spoken, Michael became more and more interested in these strange villagers. "And–Aah!" Michael's head began to throb with intense pain, as though his brain was trying to break out of it. He shut his eyes tight and clutched his head with his right hand.

"Be careful, Michael," Star said, moving Michael's small hand away from his head and placing a warm, damp piece of thick Stanler skin on his forehead. "From the looks of that bruise, you took a nasty blow to the head. You must be more careful from now on, at least until you recover."

"Thanks," Michael said as the warmth of the Stanler skin began to ease the pain. "I will. But will I be okay?"

For a moment, Star was uncertain. She turned her head and was about to ask the other healers.

"We do not know," Raindrop said before Star could even open her mouth. "An infection is beginning to creep into your left arm. It looks bad, but we will do everything we can to save you."

"My left arm?" Michael turned his head to look at the arm where his Snag Machine was attached.

Michael gasped in shock. "Oh, my Mew!" The black sleeve of his shirt was torn, showing a long, blood-red gash. The Snag Machine still seemed functional, but the cord that connected the shoulder blade to the glove was twisted. That, however, was the least of his worries. His left arm was badly twisted to a weird angle, making it very hard to move the arm.

"Your left arm is badly twisted, but I am sure you have noticed that already," Star explained. "Believe me, we have done everything to try and untwist it, but I am afraid you'll never be able to move that arm properly again."

Michael sighed glumly. Star began to kindly stroke the side of his head with a gentle tan hand. "You poor boy. You have been through much. But I am sure you will be fine." Star tried to smile for him, but he could still see the uncertainty in her expression.

"I know you're doing whatever you can," Michael said. "I just hope my family's okay... Mom... Professor Krane... Jovi..." Michael's leaf-green eyes began to flood with worry.

"You have a family, you say?" Star asked, a bit startled.

"Yeah. I grew up in a lab, a place where we study about things, such as Pokemon. My dad died five years ago. My mom's a scientist, and she's dating Prof. Krane, the Director of the Pokemon Headquarters Lab."

Star had no idea what Michael was talking about, and neither did the other healers, but they did not ask questions about what he meant, for they didn't want to upset the boy too much. They just listened as he told them about his family from what he called the Pokemon Headquarters Lab. He told about his sister named Jovi, and about an evil organization he called Cipher. He talked of their evil plans to rule the world.

"They're led by a man named Greevil," he said. "He seems harmless at first, but he's vicious. I battled him, so I know from experience."

The healers gasped. "You fought him?!" Star exclaimed. "On your own?"

"Well, not really. In Orre, we solve all our problems with Pokemon battles, which is when two Pokemon Trainers make their Pokemon battle each other. If all of your Pokemon faint before the other guy's Pokemon, you lose the battle."

"To be honest," Star said, "that sounds a bit foolish."

"I never really understood it, myself. But that's how things work in Orre."

_This boy is stranger than we figured,_ Star thought. "I see. And this cruel Cipher...?"

Michael nodded. "I battled Greevil. I won, but one of his Admins, Ardos, tried to kill me by suggesting to Greevil that they blow up Citadark Isle. But Ardos's brother Eldes, another Cipher Admin, betrayed Cipher and tried to tell Greevil not to do it. Eventually, I learned that Eldes and Ardos are Greevil's sons. But anyway, Greevil decided to blow up Citadark Isle. I don't really remember anything after that, but I think I escaped somehow."

"Leaf and Thunder found you unconscious inside of a Kyogre-like piece of metal during one of their hunting trips last sundown," an elderly healer explained. "It drifted onto our island with a red cloud-like object keeping it afloat. Then they took you back to the village. Our chief and some of his higher-ranking men talked it over, and they have decided to let us care for you until you are well enough to leave our village."

"Thanks. And that Kyogre-like object is the Robo Kyogre. It lets me travel across water."

"Travel across water!" the old healer exclaimed. "How can that be?"

"In Orre, we have many kinds of gadgets that can do all kinds of things."

"Ah. But you can tell us about it later. You need to rest while we try to heal your arm."

"Thanks," Michael said again.

As the healers placed strange herbs on his crippled arm, Michael let his thoughts drift. One of his first thoughts was of his family at the Pokemon HQ Lab. He wondered if Cipher had attacked them already. _I really hope Cipher doesn't hurt them,_ he thought with despair. _Mew forbid anything should happen to Jovi... I don't think I'll be able to live with myself._

Then he thought of Eldes, and how he betrayed Cipher in a vain attempt to save Michael. When he had last seen Greevil's son, he had been in sadness. Eldes had probably thought that in failing to save Michael, he had failed to save Orre. Who knew what he was doing now, and how he was getting on now that he had betrayed his own father?

Michael then thought about the rest of Orre, and how they were doing. Had Greevil launched an attack on them already? Did they even know Citadark blew up? Did they see the explosion? Did they think Michael was dead? His head swam with these questions that could not yet be answered.

Eldes sat in his cold, metal chair, his chin resting on his hand and his fingers drumming on the hard surface of the steel table. His father, Greevil, sat next to Eldes, and next to Greevil was Ardos, both of their expressions unreadable.

"So," Greevil said coldly to the thin, black-haired woman who stood on the opposite side of the table. "It is your wish to join Cipher, am I correct?"

"Yes it is, Greevil," the beautiful woman said in a graceful voice. "It has always been my dream to strike terror throughout the world. Especially after..." She looked down at the dark floor, a shadow crossing over her beautiful face.

"Good, good," Greevil hissed. "Now, may we have your name?"

The woman looked up again and said, "My name is Carey Adamantine."

"Good. Now, why is it you wish to join Cipher?"

Carey's steel-gray gaze bore into Greevil's amber eyes, her expression cold and hard as ice. "I want revenge."

_Revenge on who... or what?_ Eldes wondered, but he didn't dare ask this out loud.

"Congratulations, Ms. Adamantine," Greevil said. "You're hired."

He and Carey shook hands. Like he did every other job interview for Cipher, Eldes reflected on how strange it was. No resume, barely any interview, almost nothing. You just tell Greevil your name and reason for joining Cipher, and you were in.

"You start tomorrow. Here's your uniform. Ardos?"

"Yes, Master Greevil," Ardos said as he handed Carey her bright white Cipher peon uniform, which clashed with her dark black outfit.

"Now, you start out as a peon, which is the lowest rank," Greevil said. "If you prove yourself worthy, you may move on to commander and then to Admin."

"Also," Ardos said, "it is worth mentioning that you are the first to join us since the rest of Cipher was killed. Fortunately, that foolish little boy Michael died with them, so we do not have to worry about him anymore."

Eldes knew that half of what Ardos said was incorrect. While Ardos and Greevil were busy with their plans for future attacks on Orre once they got enough members, Eldes saw Michael escape from Citadark just before it exploded. He wasn't sure where the boy was headed, but because the rest of Orre thought Michael was either dead or captured by Greevil, he certainly didn't make it back home.

But Eldes had a strong feeling that Michael was alive. Eldes knew that if peace was to be restored in Orre, he had to find the boy who would save them. And he decided that, as soon as he got the chance, Eldes would find the boy–

"Eldes?" Greevil asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Huh, wha...? O-Oh, yes. Welcome to Cipher, Ms. Adamantine," Eldes said quickly as he began to sit up straight.

Greevil shot him a short, undisguised glare and Carey gave him a weird look with her attractive gray eyes. Ardos shook his head in acute embarrassment but said nothing.

_My brother is an embarrassment to us all,_ Ardos thought. _We should have left him to die on Citadark Isle with that brat. Why, if I were the head of Cipher, I'd kill him right now!_

"As I said," Greevil continued, "You begin tomorrow morning at... oh, why am I bothering to explain this to you myself? Here is your schedule." Greevil handed Carey a small piece fo paper. "Read it over carefully tonight, and be here at exactly eight o'clock, no earlier, no later. Welcome to Cipher, Carey Adamantine."

Eldes clenched his fists. _No!_ he wanted to scream to the young woman. _Leave now, while you still can! Greevil is an vicious beast, don't join Cipher!_ But he didn't dare utter a single word with Greevil sitting right next to him and Ardos glaring at Eldes with a fiery gaze hidden behind dark shades.

Carey took a short bow of respect for her new master. "Yes, Gree... I mean, Master Greevil."

"Good, good. You are dismissed. Tomorrow you will receive your first Shadow Pokemon."

_Shadow Pokemon?_ Carey thought. _Didn't Michael shut the Shadow Pokemon Factory down last week?_ Out loud, however, she simply said, "Yes, Master Greevil." and left the dark room.

Eldes was wondering the same thing Carey was. "Master Greevil," he said to his father, "I thought Michael shut the Shadow Pokemon Factory down several days ago. How are you getting more Shadow Pokemon?"

"Yesterday, Ardos and I hacked into Michael's Pokemon Storage System account," Greevil said, his emotions unreadable. "It turns out he had rescued more Shadow Pokemon than we had thought. So we simply stole them back."Greevil's mouth formed into a long, evil grin.

Eldes gritted his teeth in anger, though he did his best not to show it. This meant that Michael's efforts to save those poor Pokemon... were all in vain.

"Hold it! You are all under arrest!" a voice called from outside of the dark room.

Eldes, Ardos, and Greevil turned their eyes to the door in the front of the room.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Whoever was at the door began to bang on it violently.

"Let me in! This is the Pyrite Police! Let me in!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Greevil sighed. He recognized that voice. It was none other than Officer Johnson, an obnoxious spaz who somehow managed to keep his job as a Pyrite Officer.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Oh, Jirachi," Ardos muttered in exasperation.

The door slid open, revealing an ridiculous-looking man in a police uniform and wearing a tall blue hat, trying to look respectable but failing miserably.

_He only just realized that he could have opened to door? _Ardos thought. _This man is perhaps even worse than Eldes!_

"By my authority as Pyrite's Officer, I hereby declare you..." Officer Johnson stuck his nose high up in the air, "...under arrest!"

Greevil sighed, getting very annoyed. "Ardos," Greevil ordered, "deal with him. Now, please."

"Yes, Master Greevil." Ardos got up out of his seat and walked coldly over to Officer Johnson.

"AHA!" Officer Johnson exclaimed happily. "So, I guess you were so intimidated by my awesome power and authority that you are surrendering to me! Pow!"

Ardos shook his head in extreme annoyance. "Let's get this over with, already."

Cipher Admin Ardos-------Pyrite Officer Johnson

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)-----------------------(-)(-)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Officer Johnson threw two Poke Balls, sending out two Growlithe in an explosion of brilliant white light.

"GROOOWL!" they howled together.

"This shouldn't be too hard," Ardos grumbled as he threw his own two Poke Balls. "Go, Alakazam and Swellow!"

Eldes's eyes widened as the Poke Ball exploded in a flash of white light. Wasn't that the same Shadow Swellow that Michael Snagged? _Ardos must have stolen it back when he hacked into Michael's Storage System account,_ Eldes decided.

"Growlithe!" Officer Johnson hollered, pointing at his Growlithe dramatically. "Use Ember!"

The Growlithe that was northwest of Officer Johnson looked back at his trainer. "Grow?" he asked inquisitively, wondering which of Ardos's Pokemon to attack.

"Oh, Jirachi. Swellow, use Shadow Break on the one to your right," Ardos said, sounding quite bored.

"SWEELL!" Swellow cawed aggressively as it dive-bombed one of the Officer's Growlithe while dark energy formed rapidly around him.

"Uh... uh..." Officer Johnson could not order his Growlithe to attack in time. The dark, powerful Shadow Swellow was already dive-bombing the poor little Growlithe, vicious talons extended, evil eyes gleaming with the thrill of the fight.

Officer Johnson and his other Growlithe could only watch in shocked horror. Swellow raked his talons across Growlithe's puppy-like face, changing its color from fiery orange to blood-red. Growlithe howled in agony as his small eyes were torn right out of his head.

"No!" Officer Johnson cried.

"Finish it," Ardos hissed.

Swellow let out a huge, awful screech of pleasure. He raked the small Pokemon's throat with its deadly claws and then quickly flew back to his Trainer, all in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

All Officer Johnson and his other Growlithe could do was stare in shocked horror as a few small shudders passed through the bloody Pokemon's body. He let out a tiny, gurgling cry before he lay completely still.

"No..." Officer Johnson said in horror. "My... my Growlithe..."

"Alakazam!" Ardos commanded. "Use Psychic! Now!""Ala-KAZAM!" Alakazam closed his eyes tightly in concentration and tightened the grip on his two silver spoons. A blue glow formed around him, and the air seemed to shimmer as the Officer's other Growlithe was lifted off her paws. She thrashed her dog-like legs in an attempt to break free from Alakazam's attack, but her efforts were in vain. When she was ten feet in the air, Alakazam opened his eyes and bent his spoons sharply using his psychic abilities, sending the female Growlithe plummeting to the dark gray floor. Landing with a hard thud, she was instantly knocked out.

Officer Johnson just stared wide-eyed at Ardos, who was smirking wickedly.

"My Growlithe!"

"You... you killed my Growlithe!" Officer Johnson pointed dramatically at his dead, still-bleeding Growlithe as he recalled his female Growlithe.

"Yes," Ardos said wickedly, "and now, I kill you! Swellow, use Shadow Break!"

"SWEEEELOW!" Swellow seemed to shimmer with dark power as he swiftly flew upwards, ready to dive-bomb the Officer.

"Don't you dare kill me! I am Offi–"

Officer Johnson was unable to finish speaking, as Swellow's beak was already beginning to rip out his throat. The poor Officer screamed in pain as he saw his blood splatter in every direction.

Like his Growlithe, shudders ran through Officer Johnson's body as he fell to the ground. Swellow flew back to Ardos, his beak and talons caked in blood. They both watched in diabolical satisfaction as the Officer took his last, desperate breath.

Ardos smirked. "Well," he said, "now that we have gotten rid of that idiot, shall I take his remaining Growlithe, Master Greevil?"

"Very well," Greevil said.

Ardos walked over to the dead Officer Johnson in a most wicked manner and leaned down beside him, ignoring the blood that soaked his gray and blue robes. He grabbed the dead Officer's Poke Ball from his belt and left the body to bleed some more.

And Eldes had a horrifying feeling that the poor Officer was only the first of many to be killed for his Pokemon.


End file.
